The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is Australia’s corporate, markets and financial services regulator. ASIC is an independent Commonwealth Government body. ASIC was set up to administer the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act (ASIC Act) and carries out most of its work under the Corporations Act.

ASIC contributes to Australia’s economic reputation and wellbeing by ensuring that financial markets are fair and transparent and supported by confident and informed investors and consumers.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 requires ASIC to:

• maintain, facilitate and improve the performance of the financial system and the entities in it
• promote confident and informed participation by investors and consumers in the financial system
• administer the law effectively and with minimal procedural requirements
• enforce the law
• efficiently receive, process and store company information
• make up-to-date company and corporate information available to the public.

All businesses in Australia must comply with specific ASIC requirements. These requirements differ depending on the business.

The information provided in this section will assist small business owners in setting up ASIC-compliant businesses. However, it is recommended that professional advice also be obtained.

The ASIC Companies website  provides comprehensive information, guides and forms for business owners who are starting, running and growing a business. Among the publications available are:

Starting – a step-by-step guide to registering a company

Running – duties of company officeholders

Closing – steps to take to voluntarily deregister a company including winding up a solvent company

Changing details – check and change company details online

Payments and fees – the fees ASIC charge and how to pay them

Compliance – compliance programs aimed at ensuring companies, schemes and various individuals and entities meet their obligations under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act)

Financial reporting – details of which companies have to lodge financial reports and which financial reports need to be prepared and lodged

Raising funds – how to raise funds in Australia, lodging prospectuses and other disclosure documents

Takeovers – information and resources on takeovers

Insolvency – what to do if the business becomes insolvent.