ASIC doesn’t define “ongoing review” and an “annual review” as separate statutory categories. The key distinction is that ongoing review refers to promised service activity under an ongoing fee arrangement, whereas an annual review is a specific annual or periodic advice review promised to the client.
Expanded Answer
The regulatory position starts with the ongoing fee arrangement, not a separate ASIC definition of “ongoing review”. ASIC INFO 286 explains that an ongoing fee arrangement applies where personal advice is provided to a retail client, the client enters into an arrangement, and the client must pay fees over a period longer than 12 months. The statutory anchor is Corporations Act s 962A.
ASIC’s advice conduct guidance expects the client consent and renewal process to identify the services the client will receive in the upcoming year and the ongoing fees payable for those services. “Ongoing review” should therefore be treated as the review, monitoring, contact, reporting, or service activity promised under the ongoing fee arrangement.
An annual review is narrower. ASIC’s fees-for-no-service remediation guidance refers to an “annual (or other periodic) advice review” promised to a client. ASIC indicates that merely offering a review is unlikely to satisfy its expectations where the client paid to receive that review.
Applies when: the client agreement, consent, FDS, or renewal wording promises review services.
Not required when: no review service has been promised, agreed, or charged.
ASIC’s source material is INFO 286 on ongoing fee arrangements and consents and its fees-for-no-service remediation guidance.
Why it matters
Confusing the two can create risks of fee-for-no-service, breach reporting, remediation, and client complaints. AFS licensees must prove the promised service was delivered, not merely offered. Weak wording and poor records increase ASIC scrutiny.
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Practical guidance
- Define ongoing service activities separately from annual review obligations.
- Match client agreements, consent forms, FDS wording, and renewal records.
- Evidence each promised review with dates, scope, advice outcomes, and client communications.
Further reading
Client consent: a compliance cornerstone and trust-building tool