# Corporations Act 2001

Source page: https://protegra.io/licensing/laws/au-corporations-act-2001/

The Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) is Australia's core corporate and financial-services law. Its Chapter 7 requires an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) for financial services businesses (s 911A-913B), administered by ASIC; a 2026 amendment extends AFSL coverage to digital asset and custody platforms from April 2027.

## At a glance

| Official title | Corporations Act 2001 [1] |
| --- | --- |
| English title | Corporations Act 2001 |
| Citation | Act No. 50, 2001 (Cth), registered compilation C2026C00382 |
| Jurisdiction | [Australia](https://protegra.io/licensing/jurisdictions/australia/) |
| Type | act |
| Adopted | 2001-06-28 |
| In force from | 2001-07-15 |
| Status | in force |

## Full text

**Official full text:** [Corporations Act 2001 (PDF, en)](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A00818/2026-08-27/2026-08-27/text/original/pdf/4) [2] · 3,420 KB · file checked 2026-09-24 · consolidated version of 2026-08-27

Official page: [legislation.gov.au](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A00818/latest/text) [1]

## Summary

The Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) is Australia's principal companies and financial-markets statute, administered by ASIC and Treasury. Chapter 7 ("Financial services and markets") requires anyone carrying on a financial services business in Australia to hold an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) unless exempt (s 911A), sets licensees' general conduct obligations including efficient, honest and fair provision of services and conflict-of-interest management (s 912A), and governs when ASIC must grant a licence, including a fit-and-proper-person test (s 913B, 913BA). Enacted 2001, the Act consolidated Australian corporate law nationally. A 2026 amendment (Digital Assets Framework Act, Royal Assent 8 April 2026, commencing 9 April 2027) extends the AFSL regime to digital asset platforms and tokenised custody platforms, with a transition window for existing operators to apply. This dossier covers only the licensing-relevant Chapter 7 volume of the seven-volume compilation.

Summary written by the Atlas from the official text; the law itself prevails.

## Main articles

- **s 911A**: Requires an AFSL for carrying on a financial services business in Australia, subject to listed exemptions.
- **s 912A**: Sets licensees' general obligations: efficient/honest/fair conduct, conflict management, compliance with licence conditions and financial services laws.
- **s 913B**: ASIC must grant an AFSL only if the application meets s 913A, s 912A compliance is likely, and the fit-and-proper test (s 913BA) is satisfied.

## Licences it governs

- [IF · AustraliaAustralian financial services licence (AFSL)ASIC](https://protegra.io/licensing/licences/investment-firm/australia/)

## Regulators that apply it

- [AustraliaAustralian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)ASIC is Australia's integrated corporate, markets, financial services and consumer credit regulator; it licenses and supervises companies, f](https://protegra.io/licensing/regulators/asic-australia/)

## Upcoming changes

- 2027-04-09: Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Act 2026 commences, extending the AFSL regime (Chapter 7) to digital asset platforms and tokenised custody platforms; transition window (reported 2027-04 to 2027-10) for existing operators to lodge AFSL applications while continuing to operate under relief. [3]

## Sources

1. [legislation.gov.au: text](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A00818/latest/text): retrieved 2026-09-24
2. [legislation.gov.au: downloads](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A00818/latest/downloads): retrieved 2026-09-24
3. [legislation.gov.au: text](https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2026A00038/asmade/text): retrieved 2026-09-24

Last verified 2026-09-24 · Author: Danil Marmysh · Reviewed by Anastasia Sidorenkova · © Protegra. Data: CC BY 4.0, cite "Protegra Licensing Atlas". Not legal advice.