ASIC has today announced that it will extend one of three temporary relief measures designed to help the financial advice industry provide consumers with affordable and timely advice during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The original relief measures were announced on 14 April 2020 and are set out in ASIC Corporations (COVID-19—Advice-related Relief) Instrument 2020/355 (refer: 20-085MR). Instrument 2020/355 expires today.
ASIC will extend the relief measure that allows financial advisers to provide a record of advice rather than a statement of advice to existing clients requiring financial advice due to the impact of the pandemic.
ASIC decided to extend the relief measure after consulting with industry and identifying that some financial advice practices have found this measure helpful.
The other two measures set out in ASIC Corporations (COVID-19—Advice-related Relief) Instrument 2020/355 will not be extended. This is because the ‘early release of superannuation measure’ is no longer needed because the Government’s Early Release of Superannuation Scheme concluded on 31 December 2020. The ‘urgent advice measure’ was not extended following industry feedback that the relief was no longer necessary.
The record of advice relief measure has been extended to 15 October 2021 and is set out in a new legislative instrument ASIC Corporations (COVID-19—Advice-related Relief) Instrument 2021/268. ASIC will continue to monitor the appropriateness of the temporary relief related to records of advice in light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the demand for financial advice. If appropriate, ASIC will end the relief before the six-month period or extend it. ASIC will give sufficient notice to industry before any early repeal or extension is implemented.
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Further information
- Information on regulatory issues impacting the financial advice industry as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
- 20-085MR ASIC grants relief to industry to provide affordable and timely financial advice during the COVID-19 pandemic of 14 April 2020
- 20-220MR ASIC extends COVID-19 relief for certain capital raising and financial advice
- ASIC Corporations (COVID-19—Advice-related Relief) Instrument 2020/355
- ASIC Corporations (Amendment) Instrument 2020/862
Editor's note
On 14 July 2021, ASIC released an example ROA to help financial advisers when providing advice under ASIC Corporations (COVID-19—Advice-related Relief) Instrument 2021/268. The Example Record of Advice (ROA): COVID-19 relief measure has been annotated to help advisers understand the relevant requirements under the COVID-19 relief measure. ASIC consulted the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) and welcomes FASEA’s confirmation that the example ROA is consistent with advisers’ obligations under the FASEA Code of Ethics.