ASIC Releases Guidance on Breach Reporting for AFS and Credit Licensees

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission, popularly known by its acronym ASIC, has published regulatory guidance to help credit and Australian Financial Services (AFS) licensees to meet new breach reporting obligations.

The Aussie regulator detailed that from 1 October 2021, AFS licensees and Australian credit licensees are required to submit reportable situations (previously breach reports) to ASIC via the ASIC Regulatory Portal.

AFS licensees will have to report breaches that they discover after 1 October 2021, even if the breach occurred before that date. However, credit licensees do not have to report breaches that occurred before 1 October even when identified after 1 October 2021.

“The new reporting obligations address long held concerns on the quality and timeliness of breach reporting,”ASIC Deputy Chair Karen Chester said.”The Government’s new reporting obligations put strong guard rails in place that will benefit firms and consumers alike.”

ASIC also sets out actions that must be taken by licensees to notify affected customers of a breach of the law, investigate the breach and remediate impacted customers. This implements a new obligation that applies to licensees of financial advisers and mortgage brokers in certain situations.