Tips & Traps: Are your CAR's Employees on the ASIC Register?

Most licensees who have Corporate Authorised Representatives (CARs) know they need to have a signed authorised representative agreement and notify ASIC of the appointment. However many licensees don’t realise that they also need to appoint and notify the employees of the CARs who are providing personal advice and dealing in General Insurance products under their licence.

You don’t need a formal agreement with each employee, it is enough to provide a Notice of Authority. This is a certificate that the employees can use to give to clients who ask to see a copy of their authorisation. The Notice of Authority should identify the name of the person and their AR number (if they will have one), detail the financial services the person can provide on your behalf and be dated and signed by the CAR.

Use the following guidance to check your arrangements:

• If the employees do provide personal advice and deal in general insurance products, give each employee their own Notice of Authority and notify the appointment of that person to ASIC. They need their own AR number which can be used on business cards and emails etc.
• If the employees only provide general advice and deal in general products, give each employee their own Notice of Authority. You don’t need to notify ASIC and get an AR number for them.
• From time to time, check the ASIC database to make sure the information about who is currently acting as your authorised representatives is correct. The CAR should let you know when an employee leaves their employment so you can revoke their authority and notify ASIC.
• Review the FSG and SOA templates you have given to the CAR. If the employees can provide personal advice, make sure that the FSG and SOA identifies the employee and their AR number.