Obligations to retail clients
As a provider of financial services, you have a range of obligations to your clients. You must provide certain information and you may have other obligations. Your exact obligations depend on your role - this table gives a brief outline.
- Documents you must provide
- Other information you must provide
- Your other obligations to retail clients
Updated as at 11 March 2004.
For more information, please click on the links provided to go to our short descriptions of some obligations and documents.
Documents you must provide
| Document | Who must provide it? | When? |
|---|---|---|
| Financial Services Guide - FSG See Division 2, Part 7.7 (ss941A-943F) |
Financial Services Licensee (s941A) except
in specified circumstances (s941C) Authorised Representative (s941B) |
Generally at first contact, for example at the first meeting with the client. It must be given to the client before the financial service is provided (s941D). Where changes are made to the FSG, existing clients must be provided with an up-to-date version before additional services are provided. In some cases, particularly where the advice is only general advice, an FSG may not need to be given to the client. |
| Statement of Advice - SOA See Subdivision C, Division 3 , Part 7.7 (ss944A-948A) |
Financial Services Licensee (s944A) Authorised Representative (s944A) |
When the advice is provided or as soon as practicable afterwards (s946C). |
| Product Disclosure Statement - PDS See Division 2, Part 7.9 (ss1011A-1016F) |
Includes:
|
Broadly, in 3 situations:
|
In appropriate circumstances, an FSG and a PDS may be combined into a single document. The combined document must be divided into two parts, one containing the FSG information and the other containing the PDS information.
Other information you must provide
| Document | Who must provide it? | When? |
|---|---|---|
| Ongoing disclosure requirements (s1017B) |
The party (or, if applicable, parties) responsible for the PDS (see above) | If there are material changes to, or significant events that affect, any matters specified in the PDS clients should be notified.
This should happen before the change or event occurs, or as soon as practicable afterwards, and must happen within 3 months.
(Managed funds are excluded if they operate under the continuous disclosure regime in Chapter 6CA.) |
| Periodic reporting requirements (s1017D) | Product issuers | As soon as is practicable after the end of the reporting period (which cannot be longer than 1 year) and, in any event, within 6 months. |
| Additional information on request (s1017A) | Product issuers and sellers who are required to prepare a PDS (see above) | As soon as is practicable after receiving the request and, in any event, within 1 month. |
Your other obligations to retail clients
| Obligation | Who's obliged? | When? |
|---|---|---|
| Holding of application money (s1017E) | Product issuers and sellers who are required to prepare a PDS (see above) | Until the product is issued or transferred or the money returned. |
| Confirmation of transactions (s1017F) | Generally, the issuer of the product, with some exceptions | As soon as is practicable after the transaction. |
| Provide an Alternative Dispute Resolution process, both internal and external (s1017G) | Product issuers, both licensed and unlicensed | Before the product is issued and while the product continues to exist. |
| Cooling-off periods (ss1019A-1019B) |
Generally the product issuer, although in certain circumstances it may be the seller | See more detailed information. |
| Ensure advertising and promotional material contains certain compulsory information (s1018A) | Product issuers People issuing the advertising or promotional material |
Before and during the time the product is on issue. |
