There are four months until the end of the transition to the Financial Services Reform (FSR) Act, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, the Hon Ross Cameron MP, said today.
The Government has continued to remind financial sector participants about the need to apply for their licences promptly, and has repeatedly stressed that there will be no extension to the 10 March 2004 deadline, Mr Cameron said.
While there has been an encouraging increase in the number of licence applications received by ASIC in recent months, there are still certain sections of the financial services industry which are 'dragging the chain' in applying for licences. There have been over 1,300 licences issued and over 2,800 applications lodged.
The Government has gone to great lengths to facilitate industry participants lodging their licence applications, including through the making of several batches of amendments to the Corporations Regulations and the introduction of the FSR Amendment Bill, which clarify aspects of the FSR requirements that have been of concern.
The FSR Amendment Bill passed the House of Representatives on 5 November, and the Government is confident of its passage through the Senate in the remaining weeks of the current Parliamentary sittings. The next batch of Corporations Regulations amendments will be gazetted on 13 November.
ASIC has also put considerable effort into assisting the transition of industry participants through policy guidance, regular liaison meetings with industry groups, the "ASIC speaks" seminars and one-on-one assistance to licence applicants.
ASIC has stressed that there is no guarantee that applications lodged after 10 December 2003 will be processed before the end of the transition period. It is therefore imperative that all intending licensees lodge applications with ASIC as soon as possible and by no later than this date.
Mr Cameron urged companies to use ASIC's updated industry-specific guides and related advice on www.asic.gov.au/afsl, email the Infoline on infoline@asic.gov.au or call 1300 300 630 for further assistance.
"I am confident that there will be a smooth transition to FSRA, but it is important that applications should be lodged as soon as possible", Mr Cameron said.