The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is consulting on new record-keeping requirements for financial services licensees that provide advice to retail clients.

Under the proposed rules, brokers and advisers must show how they have acted in clients’ best interests, satisfied safe-harbour steps and avoided conflicts of interest.

ASIC wants to know if licensees agree with the changes and whether they may create any practical problems.

“We think it is important to retain the substance of… the standard [licence] condition on record-keeping, but to update it to reflect the new conduct obligations under the Future of Financial Advice reforms,” the consultative paper says.

“Adequate record-keeping is in the interests of licensees and is an important element of risk management. Good records will help a licensee to demonstrate that [it] or its representatives have complied with the new conduct obligations.”

ASIC Commissioner Greg Tanzer says record-keeping is required by law, but is also good business practice.

“It is in the interests of everyone – the firm, advisers and clients – to maintain good record-keeping practices, and is an important element of risk management.

“Our proposed record-keeping guidance is not designed to impose an additional administrative burden on industry. Instead, it is intended to give industry greater certainty about what they have to do.”

Consultation submissions close on October 23.