The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has provided more relief for brokers – and call centres – by releasing a new class order related to the information contained in a financial services guide (FSG) given in a “time-critical situation”.

ASIC says that in such a situation, such as during the sale of a financial service over the phone, it may not be practicable to provide an FSG before the financial service is provided.

John Price, ASIC’s Director of Legal and Technical Operations in Financial Services Regulation, says the Corporations Act permits a statement of certain key information to be given at the time, with the FSG given to the retail client within five days or sooner after the financial service is provided.

“However, as the Act requires an FSG to be up to date at the time it is given to the client, the information in the FSG provided later may contain different information to an FSG that would be given in normal circumstances.”

To reduce the potential for a significantly increased compliance burden in having to provide customised information in an FSG, the new class order provides that FSG information given in a time-critical situation need only be up to date at the time the earlier statement was given to the retail client.

Mr Price says the class order “will in no way reduce the level of information provided to retail clients to help them decide whether to acquire a financial service”.