Grant Moodie, a delegate of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, has made a legislative instrument that exempts every financial advisor from having to lodge a notice with ASIC in relation to a compliance scheme until 2022.

The ASIC Corporations (Amendment) Instrument 2019/1145 was made under subs926A(2) Corporations Act 2001, the Act that ASIC administers.

A 'compliance scheme,' as defined in s921H, is a scheme under which compliance with the Code of Ethics by relevant providers covered by the scheme is monitored and enforced.

A compliance scheme must name its own monitoring body. Such a body must monitor and enforce compliance with the Code of Ethics by any relevant provider covered by the scheme. It ought not itself to be a financial services licensee or an associate thereof.

A compliance scheme, which has to be given a name, must set out the way in which a dispute is to be resolved between the monitoring body for the scheme and a relevant provider covered by the scheme. It must set out the way in which someone can lodge a complaint with the monitoring body for the scheme in relation to a failure (or possible failure) to comply with the Code of Ethics by a relevant provider covered by the scheme.  

The new instrument states that no financial services licensee need comply with either s921H or ss922D, 922E, 922F, 922L and 1546W to the extent that those sections impose an obligation on it to lodge a notice with ASIC in relation to a compliance scheme. It applies until 31 October 2022.