The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has overhauled its key product disclosure and digital disclosure guidance, consolidating multiple instruments and regulatory documents into updated frameworks that set out how insurers and other financial institutions draft Product Disclosure Statements (PDSs) and deliver them electronically.
Following industry consultation under Consultation Statement 22 (CS 22), ASIC has released an updated version of Regulatory Guide 168 Product Disclosure Statements: Disclosure and other obligations (RG 168).
RG 168 continues to set out how issuers can prepare PDSs that comply with the Corporations Act 2001, but the structure and sources of guidance have been reorganised. The regulator has folded a number of previously separate documents into the revised guide and formally withdrawn them.
The guidance now withdrawn and incorporated into RG 168 includes Information Sheet 94 on notification requirements for PDSs (INFO 94), Information Sheet 155 on shorter PDSs for superannuation and simple managed investment schemes (INFO 155), Regulatory Guide 65 on section 1013DA disclosure guidelines (RG 65), Regulatory Guide 66 on transaction-specific disclosure for PDSs (RG 66), Regulatory Guide 197 on warrants out‑of‑use notices (RG 197), and Regulatory Guide 219 on non‑standard margin lending disclosure (RG 219).
Several technical adjustments within RG 168 may be relevant to insurers working with superannuation trustees, group insurance arrangements, or investment products linked to life or general insurance. In the section dealing with PDS timing and provision, ASIC has broadened the list of superannuation products where a PDS may be given at a later time. The list now covers superannuation interests issued to standard employer-sponsored members of a public offer fund that is not a successor fund.
On application forms, ASIC has maintained guidance that goes beyond the minimum requirement in the Corporations Regulations that a form include the applicant’s address. The regulator has retained its long‑standing position that including the Australian financial services (AFS) licensee’s address is intended to clarify content obligations for application forms.
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Feedback on advice-related content led ASIC to confirm that material previously located in RG 168 has been dealt with elsewhere. The regulator has pointed to Regulatory Guide 175 AFS licensing: Financial product advisers – Conduct and disclosure (RG 175) and Information Sheet 291 FAQs: FSGs and website disclosure information (INFO 291) as the primary sources for that guidance.
In Section C on tailored PDS requirements, ASIC has brought more of the detailed risk disclosure expectations from withdrawn RG 219 into RG 168, including coverage of counterparty and title transfer risks for non‑standard margin lending facilities. The guide also now specifies that liquidity disclosures must appear within the PDS itself and cannot be incorporated by reference. Product issuers must state whether a fund is considered liquid and include typical timeframes for processing withdrawal requests as key product features.
The revised RG 168 updates Appendix 1, which sets out ASIC’s guidelines under s1013DA where a PDS claims that labour standards or environmental, social, or ethical considerations are considered in investment decisions.
The appendix now refers to Regulatory Guide 280 Sustainability reporting (RG 280), which explains how broader sustainability reporting obligations for companies, schemes, superannuation entities, and corporate collective investment vehicles intersect with PDS requirements, and to Information Sheet 271 How to avoid greenwashing when offering or promoting sustainability-related products (INFO 271). ASIC has also incorporated guidance previously contained in RG 65 on expectations for issuers to explain policies and approaches used when making such claims.
ASIC has confirmed that section 1013D and section 1013DA apply to shorter PDSs. Issuers may incorporate information disclosed in accordance with s1013DA by reference into a shorter PDS rather than reproducing it in full.
Section D of RG 168, which deals with compliance risks and considerations, has been reworked to make its purpose more explicit. Headings have been amended and the section now more clearly explains that it provides examples of circumstances that may render a PDS defective, outlines the meaning of “defective” in this context and indicates the types of enforcement action ASIC may pursue when PDS requirements are not met.
The regulator has relocated references to Information Sheet 151 ASIC’s approach to enforcement (INFO 151) within Section D to make them more prominent and added a new heading, “When product issuers do not comply with PDS requirements.”
In response to queries about breach reporting, ASIC has added a reference to Regulatory Guide 78 Breach reporting by AFS licensees and credit licensees (RG 78) to guide product issuers assess their obligations to report certain breaches, including minor or technical disclosure breaches.
In Section F on lodgement and notification, ASIC has introduced a paragraph summarising relief available under ASIC Corporations (In-use Notices for Employer Sponsored Superannuation and Superannuation Dashboards) Instrument 2022/496. However, it has not extended notification expectations beyond the events listed in section 1015D(2) of the Corporations Act, as modified by the Corporations Regulations.
In parallel with the PDS changes, ASIC has completed its review of the digital disclosure framework following Consultation Statement 23 (CS 23) and has updated Regulatory Guide 221 Facilitating digital financial services disclosures (RG 221).
RG 221 sets out how Parts 7.7 and 7.9 of the Corporations Act, related regulations, and instruments apply to digital delivery of financial services disclosures, including PDSs, Financial Services Guides, and Statements of Advice.
ASIC Corporations (Electronic Disclosure) Instrument 2025/447 consolidates and replaces two earlier relief instruments – ASIC Corporations (Facilitating Electronic Delivery of Financial Services Disclosure) Instrument 2015/647 and ASIC Corporations (Removing Barriers to Electronic Disclosure) Instrument 2015/649. The new instrument allows providers to publish disclosure documents electronically and notify clients that the disclosure is available, subject to conditions.
ASIC has clarified that RG 221 and the new instrument address disclosure obligations under the Corporations Act only and do not cover disclosure frameworks under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 or the Insurance Contracts Act 1984. The regulator notes that while it has modification and exemption powers under the Corporations Act and, in some cases, under credit legislation, it does not hold equivalent powers under the Insurance Contracts Act.
Following mixed feedback on notice periods, ASIC has retained the seven‑day timeframe in which clients must be notified before electronic delivery becomes the default method. The regulator has retained the current settings, stating they are designed to support digital communication while allowing customers to opt out.
Within RG 221, ASIC has maintained a principles-based approach to digital disclosure. The guide contains high‑level expectations that licensees can adapt to varying products, distribution models, and client groups, including vulnerable consumers. ASIC did not add detailed standards on presentation of layered fees, navigation, or accessibility but pointed stakeholders to existing sections of RG 221 that deal with these issues in a general way.
Several respondents called for guidance on innovative forms of digital disclosure and mechanisms to test new concepts with ASIC. The regulator said electronic disclosure methods may vary, provided they comply with the Corporations Act as modified by relevant relief. Product issuers that are uncertain about compliance can approach ASIC’s Innovation Hub for informal assistance or apply for individual relief.
