The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) won’t be providing formal guidance to financial service providers about complying with regulatory refinements made at the end of last year.

The regulations complete the Federal Government’s refinements to the Financial Services Reform Act (FSRA) announced last year by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, Chris Pearce. And although the regulators would prefer to draw a line under the refinements and get on with the business of regulating, Mr Pearce said last month that further refinements are possible.

That’s good news for the National Insurance Brokers Association, which has welcomed the refinements but written to the Minister suggesting more micro-surgery is desirable.

“At this stage we don’t plan to issue formal, detailed guidance on the new regulations,” ASIC Executive Director of Regulation Malcolm Rodgers said.

ASIC is taking into account the intent of the new regulations in administering them and determining if entities comply with obligations.

“The Government made the new regulations after extensive consultation with the industry and the explanatory material that accompanies these regulations provides a detailed explanation of how they are meant to work,” Mr Rodgers said.

The refinements mean significant changes to the FSR framework, and ASIC has acknowledged that the industry may need some time to adjust to the changes.

During the initial settling-in period, ASIC will adopt a “reasonable approach” to compliance.

Mr Rodgers says ASIC expects financial service providers to follow the spirit of the new regulations and act fairly when dealing with retail clients.

“We will, however, continue to monitor developments and if experience shows there is a need to provide guidance at a later stage, we will do so,” Mr Rodgers said.