ASIC's digital asset relief now has a licence test

ASIC's digital asset transitional relief now has a licensing deadline. Businesses relying on its sector-wide no-action position for digital assets have until 30 September 2026 to apply for or vary an Australian Financial Services (AFS) licence or risk operating in breach of financial services law.

ASIC says the no-action position applies to providers of digital asset-related financial products and services. That is the confirmed scope. It does not, by itself, determine whether a particular financial planning practice or licensee falls within that description.

The intuitive prediction is that the deadline belongs only to specialist digital asset businesses. A practice may reasonably start there. But for a business that may be involved in providing a digital asset-related financial product or service, that assumption is not a substitute for assessing its activities against ASIC's description.

The clear deadline, and the unresolved question

ASIC has set a clear action point. Businesses relying on the no-action position have until 30 September 2026 to apply for or vary an AFS licence. From 1 October, firms that need a licence or variation to their existing authorisation but have not met the conditions of ASIC's no-action position risk breaching financial services law.

The wording matters. ASIC identifies applying for or varying an authorisation as the action due by the deadline. Its notice does not say that lodging an application or variation alone satisfies the conditions of the no-action position or permits continued operation. Firms need to consider the conditions described by ASIC, rather than treating submission as the complete answer.

The same notice addresses businesses that need an Australian Market Licence or Clearing and Settlement (CS) facility licence. Those firms are being reminded to notify ASIC in writing of their intention to apply and hold a pre‑application meeting with ASIC by 30 September 2026.

For an advice practice or licensee, the immediate question is therefore narrower than whether digital assets appear somewhere in a client's financial affairs. Does the relevant business fall within ASIC's description of providers of digital asset-related financial products and services? ASIC's notice does not establish that particular practice activities are covered, so there is no universal answer.

What a practice can establish

The useful review is a classification exercise, not a conclusion imported from a business label. A practice or licensee that may be involved should identify the relevant activity, the entity providing it and whether the business is relying on ASIC's no-action position. It should then assess whether an AFS licence or variation is required, with the relevant licensee and decision‑makers involved.

That assessment should be recorded clearly enough to show what was considered and why. It should also distinguish between the confirmed requirement to apply for or vary an authorisation and the separate question of whether the conditions of ASIC's no-action position have been met. That distinction avoids turning a filing action into an unsupported conclusion about the legality of ongoing activity.

That context makes the deadline more than an item for a regulatory calendar. For a practice or licensee that may be within scope, it is a prompt to settle the classification question before relying on an assumption about the business's role or authorisation.

The consequence from 1 October

The practical consequence is conditional, but serious. A business first needs to establish whether it is a provider within the scope ASIC describes. If it may be, it needs to address the application or variation requirement and the conditions of the no-action position. The notice does not support a broader conclusion that every advice practice is affected, or that no advice practice is affected.

The reliable conclusion is narrower. 30 September 2026 is ASIC's deadline for businesses relying on its sector‑wide no-action position for digital assets to apply for or vary an AFS licence, with separate steps for businesses needing an Australian Market Licence or Clearing and Settlement (CS) facility licence. From 1 October, firms that need a licence or variation but have not met the conditions risk operating in breach of financial services law. For practices and licensees that may be involved, the first task is to determine whether their activities fit ASIC's description of providers of digital asset-related financial products and services.¹