Released 4 December 2025. Comments close 23 January 2026.
We are seeking feedback on a proposal to remake relief instruments for Australian financial services (AFS) licensees and foreign authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs).
ASIC Corporations (Foreign Licensees and ADIs) Instrument 2016/186 and ASIC Corporations (Licence Conditions—Treatment of Lease Assets) Instrument 2021/229 are due to sunset on 1 April 2026 and automatically repeal on 1 May 2026 respectively.
We have assessed that these instruments are operating effectively and continue to form a necessary part of the legislative framework.
The relief provided under these instruments will remain largely unchanged, other than an amendment to a relief condition under ASIC Instrument 2016/186.
This amendment will replace the ‘reasonable belief’ test for the foreign licensee with a requirement that the auditor’s report include a statement that the auditor reasonably believes that the financial statements were audited in accordance with the requirements of the licensee’s place of origin.
We have also clarified a note under section 5(2) of ASIC Instrument 2016/186. Other minor changes have been made to ensure the relief is up-to-date and current.
Draft instruments are provided below.
A consultation paper was not issued for this consultation.
Providing feedback
We invite feedback on our proposal. You should send your submission to rri.consultation@asic.gov.au by 5 pm AEDT on Friday 23 January 2026.
You may choose to remain anonymous or use an alias when providing feedback. However, if you do remain anonymous we will not be able to contact you to discuss your feedback should we need to.
We will not treat your feedback as confidential unless you specifically request that we treat the whole or part of it (such as any personal or financial information) as confidential.
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Background
Under the Legislation Act 2003, all legislative instruments are automatically repealed, or ‘sunset’, after 10 years, unless ASIC takes action to preserve them.
Financial reporting and record keeping relief
ASIC Instrument 2016/186 exempts:
- foreign licensees from certain record keeping obligations, as well as the requirement to lodge financial statements and have them audited under Div 6 of Pt 7.8 of the Corporations Act, and
- foreign ADIs from the requirement to hold an AFS licence when dealing in derivatives and foreign exchange contracts on their own behalf.
Financial requirements – treatment of lease assets relief
ASIC Instrument 2021/229 specifies that a right-of-use asset under a lease is not an excluded asset for the purposes of an AFS licensee’s general duty to comply with its licence conditions. This allows certain AFS licensees when calculating their financial resource requirements to include a right-of-use asset under a lease in the calculation of their net tangible assets and, where applicable, adjusted surplus liquid funds and surplus liquid funds.
Related links
- News item: ASIC proposes to remake relief instruments for AFS licensees and overseas banks (4 December 2025)
- Draft ASIC Corporations (Foreign Licensees and ADIs) Instrument 2026/XXX (PDF 279 KB)
- Draft ASIC Corporations (Amendment) Instrument 2026/XXX (PDF 244 KB)
ASIC is Australia’s corporate, markets and financial services regulator.