Responsible Manager RG 105
What is an Australian Financial Services licence (AFSL)?
You must have an Australian Financial Services Licence to conduct a financial services business. AFS Licensees have a general obligation to provide efficient, honest and fair financial services. You must comply with the conditions of your AFS licence and the Corporations Act 2001.
AFSL Responsible Manager
Responsible Managers are the people that a licensee appoints to demonstrate to ASIC that it has the knowledge, skills and experience required to provide the financial services it is authorised to on its Australian Financial Services licence (AFSL).
A Responsible Manager is a key individual within a business. They can supervise operations in a few ways:
- Oversee the conduct of authorised representatives who trade financial instruments or provide advice
- Be a company director appointed as a responsible manager
- Serve purely as a responsible manager, monitoring licensing compliance and conduct risks.
Checking the credentials of Responsible Managers is one aspect of how ASIC evaluates whether a licensee is ‘competent’ to provide the financial services specified under its AFSL. In the course of assessing licensee compliance with the ‘organisational competence obligation’ in RG 105, ASIC will expect that Responsible Managers:
- are directly responsible for significant day-to-day decisions about the ongoing provision of financial services;
- are of good fame and character; and
- have the requisite knowledge, skills and experience.
How many Responsible Managers a licensee should ideally appoint varies and depends on the nature, scale and complexity of the business. If a licensee is heavily dependent on the competence of one or two Responsible Managers, e.g. in a small organisation with one or two principals, then ASIC will generally impose a ‘key person’ condition on the licence.
Responsible Manager Training and Courses
What responsible managers need to know about their role and responsibilities, and the industry regulations licensees must comply with.
RG 105 Responsible Manager Nomination Option 3
Are you being nominated as a Responsible Manager under your AFSL? Do you have a relevant university degree and three years relevant experience?
Responsible Manager Nomination Option 3 is suitable for nominated Responsible Managers who hold a university degree in a relevant discipline (e.g. economics, commerce, business, accounting or equivalent). In some cases ASIC may accept a degree in some other technical discipline (e.g. a degree in geology if the nominated Responsible Manager’s role relates to giving financial product advice about resource equities). In addition you must have three years relevant experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
RG 105 AFS licensing: Organisational competence is a guide for Australian financial services (AFS) licensees and AFS licence applicants.
This guide describes what ASIC looks for when assessing compliance with the ‘organisational competence obligation’, which is one of the general obligations under s912A(1) of the Corporations Act.
Responsible Managers are the people that a licensee appoints to demonstrate to ASIC that it has the knowledge, skills and experience required to provide the financial services it is authorised to on its Australian Financial Services licence (AFSL).
For information on relevant legislation and important information surrounding your licensing obligations please refer to ASIC’s Regulatory Index.
Are you applying for an AFS Licence? Refer to ASICs AFS Licensing Kit for your obligations.
ASIC Regulatory Guide 105 AFS Licensing: Organisational competence (RG 105), provides detailed information about the requirements of responsible managers under an AFS licence.
For information on relevant legislation and important information surrounding your licensing obligations please refer to ASIC’s Regulatory Index.
A responsible manager possesses the following attributes:
- they must be directly responsible for significant day-to-day decisions in regard to the provision of financial services
- they must meet one of the five options for demonstrating knowledge and skills appropriate to their role, and
- they must be a ‘fit and proper’ person.
Persons likely to be responsible managers within an AFS licensee include:
- executive directors employed in a small to medium business
- managers in a dealing room environment
- business unit heads.
It is important to note that each financial product and service offered by a licensee must be matched by the skills and experience of at least one responsible manager
Our CPD program is an essential annual update for responsible managers and governance, risk and compliance leaders.
- Released annual each year
- Contains five topics in alignment with what the regulators are prioritising
- Earns 15 CPD hours/points (3 CPD points per topic).
- Topics are separately assessed so can be studied one at a time, across the year.
- Assessment is via a multiple-choice quiz for each topic.
We see Compliance Consultants as essential to good customer outcomes. Self-licensing is on the rise, ASIC is increasing scrutiny of regulated entities, and numerous legislative changes and other reforms are prompting all manner of financial services firms to seek the assistance of a Compliance Consultant.
Please visit our Compliance Consultants directory.