Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is Australia’s integrated corporate, markets, financial services, and consumer credit regulator. It is an independent Australian Government body and plays a central role in supervising firms, administering financial-services law, and enforcing regulatory standards across Australia.

Jurisdiction & Scope
ASIC regulates companies, financial markets, financial services, and consumer credit in Australia. Its role includes maintaining and improving the performance of the financial system, promoting informed participation by investors and consumers, and enforcing the law across the entities it supervises.

Licensing & Authorisation
ASIC oversees licensing and registration across several regulated areas, including Australian financial services licences and credit licences. A firm may be authorised for some services but not others, so users should verify the exact legal entity, permissions, and status before relying on any claim of ASIC regulation.

Public Register & Verification
ASIC provides public registers covering business names, companies and organisations, professional registers, and banned or disqualified people and organisations. These tools are important for checking whether a person or organisation is registered or licensed to provide a service and whether any restrictions or disqualifications apply.

Regulatory Role
ASIC is one of the key regulators used in broker and financial-firm due diligence in Australia. Its registers and regulatory framework help users confirm whether a firm is properly licensed, whether it is authorised to provide the services it claims to offer, and whether there are any public restrictions or disqualification records that should be considered.