ASIC’s core principles for developing and implementing regulatory guidance

This page outlines seven core principles that ASIC will follow when developing and implementing regulatory guidance. We expect that these will help stakeholders understand what they can expect from us and our work on regulatory guidance.

Principle 1: We provide clear regulatory guidance to help our regulated entities comply with the law.

• We issue guidance in the form of regulatory guides and information sheets to help entities comply with the law.
• We may also issue guidance to respond to emerging risks/issues or developments in the sectors we regulate.

Principle 2: We follow consultation processes to ensure our regulated entities and stakeholders have opportunities to provide feedback when developing our regulatory guidance.

• We consult our regulated entities and stakeholders about new regulatory guides and information sheets and significant changes to our existing regulatory guides and information sheets.
• We tailor our approach to the circumstances, taking into account our broad remit and the diversity of our stakeholders.
• We consult stakeholders who have an interest in our regulatory guidance at various stages of the process in a range of ways. Depending on the circumstances, these may include issuing a consultation paper (including draft regulatory guidance), receiving other forms of written feedback, holding roundtable discussions, holding one-on-one meetings (face to face or virtual) or a combination of these.
• We will involve and consult with stakeholders at an early stage where possible, including, in some cases, by way of a two-stage consultation process where appropriate.

Principle 3: We ensure stakeholders have adequate time to engage with and respond to our consultations.

• We always consider the timing of our consultation and how it affects our stakeholders, having regard where necessary to the prioritisation and timing set by Government.
• We aim to have our consultations open for eight weeks, with a minimum of four weeks, where possible. Our consultation period may be slightly shorter for urgent projects.
• We always aim to stagger our consultations to minimise the impact on stakeholders and to ensure stakeholders have sufficient time to engage and respond.

Principle 4: We are transparent about the outcomes of our consultation and our decision making.

• We always consider the input and responses received from all stakeholders. Where we cannot incorporate stakeholder feedback into our final regulatory guidance, we ensure we explain the rationale for that to our stakeholders.
• We aim to publish the feedback we receive, along with our responses to the feedback, in the form of feedback reports or other public statements.

Principle 5: We aim to give stakeholders adequate time to implement our guidance, where possible.

• To help our regulated entities plan and implement any necessary changes to their systems or processes to comply with new or changed obligations, we aim to publish our consultation papers and draft and final regulatory guidance with as much notice as practicable before the commencement of any new obligations (noting that the Government’s policy and legislative agenda and their timing are not within ASIC’s control).
• When ASIC initiates a change to guidance, we will aim to provide reasonable notice for entities to make any necessary systems or process changes.
• We always encourage stakeholders to commence implementation as early as possible, having regard to the legislation and the explanatory memoranda, and to seek their own advice where necessary.

Principle 6: We communicate with stakeholders about the release of our regulatory guidance.

• When releasing new or significantly updated regulatory guides or information sheets, we use a range of communication channels to raise stakeholder awareness. These can include media releases, newsletters, roundtable discussions, one-on-one meetings, webinars and Q&A sessions, or a combination of these where appropriate.

Principle 7: We gather regular feedback from our regulated entities and other stakeholders about our regulatory guidance.

• Throughout the year, we gather regular feedback through roundtable discussions, open working relationships and regular meetings with our regulated entities, and engagement with our external consultative and advisory panels. This ongoing engagement gives us the opportunity to gather stakeholder feedback about any matters relating to the implementation of our guidance.