Released 23 July 2026. Comments close 20 August 2026.
ASIC is seeking feedback on its proposal to remake ASIC Corporations (Low Volume Financial Markets) Instrument 2016/888. The instrument is scheduled to sunset on 1 October 2026.
The instrument exempts low-volume financial markets from certain licensing requirements in the Corporations Act 2001 (Corporations Act).
We have assessed that the instrument is operating effectively and efficiently and continues to form a necessary and useful part of the legislative framework. The only substantive change we are proposing is to increase the transaction threshold in the definition of a low-volume financial market from $1.5 million to $2.5 million. This takes into account factors such as inflation because the threshold has not been changed since 2016.
See Related information for copies of the draft instrument.
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 AEST on Thursday 20 August 2026.
In addition to the request for general feedback, we invite feedback on the specific issues below:
- Do you support our proposal to increase the transaction value threshold from $1.5 million to $2.5 million so that it is indexed to reflect its current dollar value? Please give reasons.
- What compliance costs or savings do you expect to incur if we remake the relief as proposed, compared to requiring full compliance with the Corporations Act and an Australian markets licence to be held? Please provide specific details and dollar estimates for any upfront and ongoing costs or savings.
- If we did not remake the relief and allowed it to expire, what impact would this have on your current business operations? Please provide specific details.
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.
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Background
ASIC Instrument 2016/888 exempts low-volume financial markets from the requirement to hold an Australian market licence by exempting them from the operation of Part 7.2 of the Corporations Act. A low-volume financial market is defined in the instrument as a financial market where no more than 100 completed transactions are entered into and the total value (measured by sale price) does not exceed $1.5 million, in any 12-month period.
We consider that it would be inconsistent with the purpose of the market licence regulatory regime to require a low-volume financial market to hold a market licence.
Under the Legislation Act 2003, all legislative instruments are automatically repealed, or sunset, after 10 years, unless ASIC takes action to preserve them.
Related information
ASIC seeks feedback on remaking low-volume financial market relief
Draft ASIC Corporations (Low Volume Financial Markets) Instrument 2026/XX (PDF 240 KB)