As a credit licensee, can you sign the Annual Compliance Certificate?

If you are a credit licensee, you must lodge an annual compliance certificate with ASIC within 45 days of your licensing anniversary each year.  Your licensing anniversary is the anniversary of the day on which your credit licence was issued.  Only certain people can sign the annual compliance certificate.  Who those people are will depend on the type of legal entity which holds the licence:

• If the licensee is a natural person then that person must sign the certificate
• If the licensee is a partnership or a trustee then a partner or trustee that performs duties in relation to credit activities must sign the certificate
• If the licensee is a body corporate (but not an ADI) then the CEO or, if there is no CEO, a person responsible for managing the licensee’s affairs and who has authority to make decisions in relation to the allocation of resources so that the licensee complies with its statutory obligations must sign the certificate
• If the licensee is a body corporate and an ADI then the CEO or a ‘responsible person’ under Prudential Standard APS 520 must sign the certificate

If you sign the certificate, make sure that you are confident that the information included is complete and accurate.

Remember: it is an offence to provide misleading information to ASIC.  This includes misleading ASIC by failing to provide information that is required to be disclosed in the annual compliance certificate.

Would you like to know more?

Author: Fiona McCord (previously Senior Associate at Holley Nethercote)