AFSL Responsible Manager Nominations

We can assist AFSL holders with the nomination and/or termination of their Responsible Managers (‘RMs’), Key Persons and variation of their AFSL conditions.

AFSL Responsible Managers and Key Persons

A Responsible Manager (‘RM’) is a person that satisfies the knowledge and skills requirements under RG 105 to maintain the authorisation(s) granted to an AFSL holder. It is not necessary for a RM to cover all authorisations on an AFSL, but all RMs, together, must cover the organisational competency requirements for the licensee to maintain all the authorisations under its AFSL.

Whether you are an applicant in the process of applying for an AFSL, or a licensee looking to nominate a new AFSL Responsible Manager, we may be able to help you with the screening of the candidates and the nomination process of your chosen RM.

A licensee may have a ‘key person requirement’ on its AFSL where one or more of its RMs are considered to play a critical role in the operations of the business. A licensee must provide ASIC with a written notice within 5 business days in the event that a key person is leaving the organisation, including the date on which the key person ceases to be an officer or to perform duties for the licensee, and the details of the replacement. Where no replacement is available, you must provide the reasons why. Detailed description of how the licensee will ensure continuous compliance with the Corporations Act and its licence conditions following the departure of the key person will also need to be provided to ASIC.

The replacement of a key person requires the lodgement of an AFSL licence variation, rather than a mere nomination of a new AFSL Responsible Manager.

AFSL Variations

You may be an AFSL holder that wishes to either change the direction of your business or to expand the range of the financial products and services you offer. This may require new authorisations to be added to your AFSL, which will require an AFSL variation application. Such an application will involve an update of the A5 Business Description and B1 Organisational Competence, People Proof documents and potentially other documents, depending on the new authorisation(s) sought.

To find out more about how we could assist with AFSL compliance for your business, simply click here to book an obligation-free virtual coffee with our founder and director Xiaoshu Liu.