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FINANCIAL SERVICES STANDARDS

Below is a list of all generally available FSC Standards. The FSC Standards Fact Sheet can be downloaded here. To access FSC Guidance Notes, click here. 

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Our current Standards appear immediately below this panel. References (without documents) to any Standards that have been repealed can be found here.

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STANDARD NO. 1

pdf CODE OF ETHICS & CODE OF CONDUCT

The Code of Ethics and the Code of Conduct are designed to promote an investment and financial services industry of the highest integrity. The Codes recognise that the object of industry participants is to work to the highest standards of professionalism and generally meet and where possible exceed the public's expectations. The Code of Conduct sets out the procedure for Financial Services Council members to comply with Financial Services Council Standards and the sanctions applied to those members in breach.

STANDARD NO. 13

pdf VOTING POLICY, VOTING RECORD & DISCLOSURE (effective from 1 July 2021)

The main purposes of Standard 13 Voting Policy, Voting Record and Disclosure are:

(a) in relation to Australian investments, to require the formulation of an Operator’s voting policy (including proxy voting) for each Scheme it operates;

(b) whether or not an Operator engages the services of a voting or proxy consultant in exercising its voting rights; and

(c) to require disclosure of the above matters and details of the exercise of such voting rights by the Operator (on an “entity and resolution level” basis) in respect of each financial year for each Scheme it operates.

(“Scheme” is defined in FSC Guidance Note 5 Industry Terms and Definitions, and includes REs of registered schemes and RSE licensees of superannuation funds).

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STANDARD NO. 21

pdf MENTAL HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAM & TRAINING

The purpose of this Standard is to ensure individual representatives or entities authorised by a life insurer to provide information to consumers in respect of the management of a FSC Member’s life insurance products receive an appropriate level of education and training in relation to ‘mental health’ awareness. This Standard also requires the Member to review the effectiveness of the Member’s Mental Health Education Program designed to ensure mental health awareness among such representatives or authorised entities. An  pdf FAQ  has also been provided to assist.

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STANDARD NO. 22

pdf CULTURAL CAPABILITY IN NATIVE TITLE SERVICES

The purpose of this Standard is to encourage good practice in the provision of tailored, culturally-appropriate financial services to assist Communities to achieve their goals and aspirations. In adhering to this Standard, FSC trustee members commit to working in partnership with Communities, recognising their diverse governance structures, cultural practices, and languages. This Standard is also intended to support trustees to build sustainable, respectful relationships with their clients, acknowledging that it makes good business sense to do so. Nothing in this Standard displaces FSC Members’ obligations under law.

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STANDARD NO. 23

pdf PRINCIPLES OF INTERNAL GOVERNANCE AND ASSET STEWARDSHIP

This Standard has been drafted to provide guidance to FSC Members who undertake the role of Asset Managers in setting and achieving best practice in fulfilling their fiduciary responsibility as custodians of one of the largest pools of managed funds in the world.

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LIFE INSURANCE CODE OF PRACTICE

The purpose of the Code is to encourage good practice and high standards of service in the provision of life insurance.

To visit the LIFE INSURANCE CODE OF PRACTICE page and to download the Code and other resources click here.

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STANDARD NO. 24

pdf LIFE INSURANCE APPROVED PRODUCT LIST  

The purpose of this Standard is to encourage high standards in life insurance Approved Product List (APLs) construction practices that encourage competitive access and choice for advisers and their clients in life insurance products. The Standard also outlines processes for "off-APL" recommendations to ensure that advisers can access other products to enable them to meet best interest obligations.

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STANDARD No. 25

pdf LIFE INSURANCE INDUSTRY DATA COLLECTION POLICY

This Standard applies to FSC Members who are registered as life insurers by APRA as defined in this Standard and/or have a subsidiary that is such a registered life insurance company.  Its purpose is to encourage high standards in the collection of life insurance data, as outlined by APRA and the ASIC Claims Data Collection process.

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STANDARD No. 26

pdf CONSENT FOR ACCESSING HEALTH INFORMATION 

The purpose of this Standard is to ensure that, when obtaining information from health practitioners about customers, FSC Members use a standardised consent wording, developed in agreement with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), as well as a process to inform customers as to when this consent will be used.

This Standard originally came into effect on 1 July 2019, with Members asked to comply by 5 October 2021..

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STANDARD No. 27

pdf REMOVAL OF OCCUPATIONAL EXCLUSIONS AND OCCUPATION BASED RESTRICTIVE DISABILITY DEFINITIONS IN DEFAULT COVER

This Standard is relevant to FSC Members broadly. However, it is of particular relevance and binding upon FSC Members who are “FSC Trustee(s)” and “FSC Life Insurance Company(ies)”.  To ensure people who have Default Cover in superannuation who would otherwise be able to claim are not prevented from making a valid claim due to the nature of their occupation. The standard does this by removing the use of occupational exclusions and occupation based restrictive disability definitions by FSC Trustees and FSC Life Insurance Company(ies).

The Standard commenced on 10 December 2021 and following a transition period will come into effect on 1 January 2023.

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STANDARD No. 28

pdf CLAIMS HANDLING FOR SUPERANNUATION FUNDS 

(formerly Guidance Note 42)   

The purpose of this Standard is to implement mandatory standards for claims handling by superannuation trustees.

The Standard commences on 1 January 2023 and following a transition period will come into effect on 1 July 2023.

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Repealed Standards appear below for historical purposes.

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STANDARD NO. 2 (covering current compliance period up to 16 March 2021 - replaced by Guidance Note 39 from 17 March 2021 onwards)

EQUITY TRUSTS

The main features of this Standard are: to indicate to Managers, when reporting dividend imputation credits derived from investments in Australian shares, the formats they may choose to report the credits to their Investors; The formula for calculating the franking level of distributed Income; and the basis for quoting Franking Credits.

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STANDARD NO. 3

INVESTOR REPORTING (REPEALED)

The Financial Services Council Board has repealed Financial Services Council Standard No 3 - Investor Reporting (retrospectively, effective from 1 July 2003). The Standard was repealed on the grounds that the Financial Services Reform Act ("FSRA") is prescriptive in the area of periodic reporting and confirmation of transactions.

STANDARD NO. 4

ONGOING FEE MEASURE (REPEALED)

This Standard was repealed in February 2004 and adopted as Guidance Note No. 18 and 19. Guidance Note No. 18 and 19 were repealed when the Government Indirect Cost Ratio came into effect on 1 July 2006.

STANDARD NO. 5

OPERATIONAL CAPABILITY STANDARD (REPEALED)

FSC Standard 5 Operational Capability has been repealed effective from 1 July 2013, as the Standard has been superseded by numerous financial services law reforms and regulator requirements. Standard 5 was issued in 1999 and covered the obligations of FSC Members in relation to various matters including business continuity, insurance, audit, dispute resolution and resources. Since 1999 there have numerous legislative reforms and regulator requirements which superseded Standard 5, such as the financial services licensing reforms in 2001, the superannuation licencing reforms, APRA prudential standards and guidance and ASIC regulatory guides.

STANDARD NO. 6

PRODUCT PERFORMANCE: CALCULATION OF RETURNS (REPEALED)

The main features of this Standard are to specify the principles adopted when calculating Total, Growth and Distribution Returns; enable proper assessment of Product returns when comparing Month-End returns, after fees and tax paid by the Product, with market indices and other Products (ie peer comparisons), ensure there is as much consistency as possible with the Australian Investment Performance Measurement and Presentation Standards and Global Investment Performance Standards. 

Refer to Guidance Note 46 PRODUCT PERFORMANCE: CALCULATION OF RETURNS for more information

 STANDARD NO. 6B

CALCULATION OF RETURNS: SUPER INVESTMENT OPTIONS (REPEALED)

This Standard was repealed by the Financial Services Council Board on 28th October 2010.

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STANDARD NO. 7

REFERENCES TO FSC's LOGO, MEMBERSHIP, STANDARDS OR GUIDANCE NOTES (REPEALED)

This Standard applies to all FSC Members and is binding on Full Members. Supporting Members are encouraged to adopt the principles of this Standard in relation to references to the FSC and the use of the FSC logo.  It was repealed by the Financial Services Council Board on 10 December 2021.

STANDARD NO. 8

 SCHEME PRICING (REPEALED)

This Standard sets out the principles to be adopted in the calculation of Scheme prices, and prescribes standards for, among other things, transaction cost factors, arbitrage opportunities, backdating, the frequency of pricing, rounding adjustments and process documentation. Standard No. 8 has been subject to substantial revisions, transitional arrangements apply. The new Standard is mandatory for all members from 1 July 2007. In the meantime, Financial Services Council members should comply fully with either the old Standard or the new Standard. Members are welcomed to comply with the new Standard before the effective date.

This Standard was repealed effective 30 November 2022 and was was replaced by Guidance Note 48 Scheme Pricing. 

STANDARD NO. 8A

CREDITING RATES (REPEALED)

This Standard applies to FSC Members generally and in particular Members who are Operators of a Scheme using Crediting Rates.

This Standard was repealed effective 30 November 2022 and was was replaced by Guidance Note 49 Crediting Rates. 

STANDARD NO. 9

VALUATION OF SCHEME ASSETS & LIABILITIES (REPEALED)

This Standard sets out the principles to be adopted in the valuation of Scheme assets and liabilities and provides guidance in the interpretation and application of those principles. The Standard prescribes, among other things, standards relating to independence, market values, the existence of properly regulated markets and valuation frequency.  This version incorporates changes to accommodate the introduction of FSC Standard 8A: Crediting Rates.  

This Standard was repealed effective 30 November 2022 and was was replaced by Guidance Note 50 Valuation of Scheme Assets & Liabilities

STANDARD NO. 10

PRESENTATION OF PAST PERFORMANCE INFORMATION & VISUAL PROMOTIONS (REPEALED)

The main features of this Standard are: To specify standards to be adopted by a Financial Services Council member in the promotion of its Financial Products and Services; as well as provide guidance in the interpretation and application of those standards.

Refer to Guidance Note 47 PRESENTATION OF PAST PERFORMANCE INFORMATION & VISUAL PROMOTIONS for further information.

STANDARD NO. 10

PRESENTATION OF RETURNS INFORMATION: SUPER & NON-SUPER INVESTMENT (REPEALED)

This Standard has been repealed in accordance with the Board's decision to repeal Standard 6B: Calculation of Returns: Superannuation Investment Options.

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STANDARD NO. 11

MORATORIUM ON GENETIC TESTS IN LIFE INSURANCE

STANDARD NO. 12

ASIC FEE TEMPLATE (REPEALED)

The Financial Services Council Board has repealed Financial Services Council Standard No. 12 - ASIC Fee Template in response to the Government introducing the Enhanced Fee Disclosure Measures (Corporations Amendment Regulations 2005) from 1 July 2005. The regime effectively removes the need for this Standard.

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STANDARD NO. 14

ALTERNATIVE FORMS OF REMUNERATION IN WEALTH MANAGEMENT INDUSTRY (REPEALED)

Standard 14 was withdrawn effective 30 June 2013 in light of the commencement of the Future of Financial Advice reforms on 1 July 2013.

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STANDARD NO. 15

REBATES & RELATED PAYMENTS (“GUIDE”) (REPEALED)

Standard 15 was withdrawn effective 30 June 2013 in light of the commencement of the Future of Financial Advice reforms on 1 July 2013.

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STANDARD NO. 16

FAMILY MEDICAL HISTORY POLICY (REPEALED)

Standard 16 was repealed on 1 July 2023.  The main features of this Standard was: The Family Medical History Policy to be adopted by a member in the operation of its life insurance business; and Guidance in the interpretation and application of those standards.

This Standard now forms part of item 4.15 of the new Life Code.

STANDARD NO. 17

ERRORS IN PRICING/CREDITING RATES WHEN DETERMINING SCHEME INTERESTS - CORRECTION & COMPENSATION (REPEALED)

This Standard sets minimum requirements for occasions when incorrect prices have been calculated and transacted upon and for determining when compensation is required that arises as a result of incorrect unit prices. This version incorporates changes to accommodate the introduction of FSC Standard 8A: Crediting Rates.  

This Standard was repealed effective 30 November 2022 and was replaced by Guidance Note 51 Errors in Pricing / Crediting Rates when Determining Scheme Interests - Correction and Compensation

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STANDARD NO. 18

BEST PRACTICE GUIDANCE FOR DISCLOSURE IN THE MORTGAGE TRUST SECTOR (REPEALED)

This Standard was repealed effective 6 August 2017.

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STANDARD NO. 19

ADVISER FEES IN SUPERANNUATION (REPEALED)

Standard 19 was withdrawn effective 30 June 2013 in light of the commencement of the Future of Financial Advice reforms on 1 July 2013.

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STANDARD NO. 20

SUPERANNUATION GOVERNANCE POLICY (REPEALED)

This Standard was binding upon FSC Members who are trustees holding a public offer or extended public offer licence to operate a registrable superannuation entity (RSE) under the provisions of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 and Regulations (collectively, SIS) in relation to each public offer fund that the FSC Member operates.  The  Standard was repealed on 10 December 2021.

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