Under the financial services laws, a person that carries on a
financial services business must hold an AFSL covering the
provision of those services, unless an exemption applies.
Issuing a financial product is a financial service and,
therefore, would seem to require the issuer to hold an AFSL.
However, two licensing exemptions are potentially applicable to the
issuing of financial products. These exemptions are:
- the authorised representative exemption;i and
- the intermediary exemption.ii
The exact application of these exemptions to the issuing of
financial products has, up to now, not been entirely clear. Further
uncertainty has arisen due to ASIC taking a restrictive
interpretation of both exemptions in its public policy
guidance.
