The Financial Services and Credit Panel (FSCP) is an ASIC convened panel that sits within the Financial Services and Credit Panel regime to take administrative action against financial advisers who breach their professional obligations. Its role is to determine whether a relevant provider has failed to comply with the law, including the Code of Ethics, and to impose appropriate sanctions such as warnings, reprimands, conditions on registration, or suspension or cancellation of registration. The panel operates as a peer review mechanism, with industry participation, to strengthen accountability and professional standards in financial advice.
The Financial Services and Credit Panel (FSCP) is a pool of experienced industry representatives, appointed by the Minister, that ASIC utilise to consider alleged misconduct by, or circumstances relating to, a financial adviser.
The circumstances that require ASIC to convene a sitting panel include:
- adviser insolvency;
- adviser fraud;
- contravention of education and training standards;
- serious contraventions of the financial services laws.
Similar circumstances that relate to a Licensee’s conduct or operation, are outside the scope of the FSCP and would instead be addressed by ASIC itself.
The Panel has the authority to take various actions such as mandating specific training, counselling, supervision or reporting. The Panel can also suspend, ban and reprimand advisers as well as refer matters to ASIC. However, it’s crucial to understand that the Panel can only consider and make decisions on matters that pertain to a ‘relevant provider’.
In simple terms, a relevant provider (defined in s910A of the Corporations Act) is an individual who is an Australian financial services (AFS) licensee, an employee or director of an AFS Licensee or a related body corporate or an authorised representative that is authorised to provide personal financial product advice to retail clients.
For more detailed information about the Financial Services and Credit Panel refer to ASIC Regulatory Guide 263.
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