Where the requirement comes from
You will not find s 912G in a printed copy of the Corporations Act. ASIC made Instrument 2024/508 on 23 September 2024 under s 926A(2)(c). It modifies Part 7.6 of the Act as it applies to licensees and authorised representatives by inserting a notional s 912G after s 912F. It replaced Class Order 14/923, which sunset on 1 October 2024, and ASIC's explanatory statement says it preserves that order's effect with no significant changes. It commenced on 24 September 2024 and is set to be repealed at the start of 1 October 2029 unless ASIC remakes it or Parliament moves the rule into the Act.
Five sources sit around it:
| Source | What it requires | Who it binds |
|---|---|---|
| Corporations Act s 912G (Instrument 2024/508) | Records of the information relied on and action taken to meet the best interests duty, the advice and the reasons it is appropriate, and how conflicts were prioritised. Kept seven years and able to be produced. | The licensee, and authorised representatives who hold the records |
| Corporations Act ss 961B, 961G, 961H, 961J | The duties the records have to evidence: best interests, appropriate advice, the warning where information is incomplete or inaccurate, and priority for the client's interests. | The advice provider |
| Corporations Regulations reg 7.7.09 and notional s 946B(3A) | What a Record of Advice must contain when further advice is given without a Statement of Advice, kept seven years. | The providing entity |
| ASIC Regulatory Guide 175, RG 175.333 to RG 175.348 | ASIC's expectations: records of the inquiries made and the consideration and investigation of products. Lists file notes among acceptable records. | Guidance for licensees and advisers |
| Financial Planners and Advisers Code of Ethics 2019, Standard 8 | 'You must ensure that your records of clients, including former clients, are kept in a form that is complete and accurate.' | Every relevant provider, enforced through s 921E(3) |
What s 912G says must be recorded
Section 912G(2) applies when personal advice is given to a retail client. The licensee must ensure records are kept of four things:
- Best interests. The information relied on and the action taken by the provider that indicates they acted in the client's best interests under s 961B(1).
- Safe harbour, if you rely on it. The information relied on and the action taken that satisfies the steps in s 961B(2). The instrument notes that records meeting this item also meet the first.
- The advice and why it is appropriate. The advice given, including the reasons why, under s 961G, it would be reasonable to conclude the advice is appropriate to the client.
- Conflicts. Where the provider knows, or reasonably ought to know, of a conflict with the interests of a person listed in s 961J(1), the information relied on and action taken to show the client's interests were given priority.
Notice the words 'information relied on' and 'action taken'. The section asks for evidence of a process. A note that records only the recommendation does not meet it. ASIC adds in a note to RG 175.341 that where there is a conflict under s 961J it considers more detailed records should be kept, covering the reasoning behind any recommendation that the client acquire a new product, or increase their interest in an existing one, where this benefits the provider or a related party.
Where the full section does not apply
Section 912G(7) switches off most of the section, other than the conflicts record, in two cases: advice for which a Statement of Advice is not required, and advice for which a record of the advice is kept under s 946B(3A). That is not a free pass. The Record of Advice rules in reg 7.7.09 apply in their place, the duties in ss 961B and 961G still have to be provable, and ASIC says in RG 175.334 that a licensee's general obligations under s 912A require adequate records of personal advice. Section 912G(6) also carves out advice on certain simpler products where the Act treats the first three safe harbour steps as enough.
The seven-year period
- Seven years from the advice. Records must be kept for seven years after the day the personal advice was provided to the client (s 912G(3)(a)).
- Accessible, so they can be produced. The licensee must be able to access the records at all times during that period 'in a way that enables the licensee to produce the records' (s 912G(3)(b)).
- It survives the licence. The obligation continues even if the licensee stops being a licensee during the period.
- Authorised representatives. If you hold the records, you must give them to the licensee on request and otherwise keep them for seven years, even after your authorisation ends (s 912G(4)).
Seven years is the minimum under this rule. Many licensees keep files longer because complaints and claims can arrive later. See how long to keep file notes in Australia.
See what a finished file note looks like.
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What RG 175 adds
Regulatory Guide 175 (November 2024 version) explains how ASIC reads the rule. RG 175.333 says ASIC expects licensees to keep records of how their advice providers acted, including 'the inquiries an advice provider makes into the client's relevant circumstances, and the consideration and investigation of the financial products they are advising on'.
RG 175.337 says records may take various forms and do not have to be paper based. Its list includes the advice document, 'file notes, including records of conversations', correspondence, working papers, fact-finding documents and audio recordings. RG 175.338 gives the reason to bother: keeping records 'will be necessary' for a provider to show they satisfied the safe harbour, and good records help in defending a claim.
For further advice given without a new Statement of Advice, RG 175.95 says the Record of Advice will normally be sufficient if it clearly and unambiguously sets out the advice and includes either a summary of the client's relevant circumstances or a clear statement that they are set out in an earlier, dated document, which is only available if reasonable inquiries confirm nothing has changed. Our guide to SOA versus ROA covers when each applies.
What ASIC and the Financial Services and Credit Panel have said about poor records
The outcomes below are taken from ASIC's FSCP Outcomes Register and its Financial advice update of 9 September 2026.
- Records too thin to prove the safe harbour (31 August 2023). Two register entries with this date record sitting panel findings that a relevant provider failed to keep adequate records of further advice given to three clients, contravening s 946B(3A) and reg 7.7.09. Because the records did not reference the research behind the recommendations, the provider 'could not prove' they had performed all the actions in s 961B(2). Each entry also records breaches of Code of Ethics Standards 5 and 8, and a direction to have the next 10 pieces of advice pre-vetted and audited by an independent person.
- A three-month suspension (18 November 2024). A sitting panel suspended Ian James Reid's registration for three months from 21 November 2024 (ASIC media release 24-258MR) over Records of Advice given to three clients in reliance on Statements of Advice that were five to seven years old. The panel found there was not sufficient evidence on the client files that reasonable enquiries were made or why the earlier recommendations remained appropriate. The register entry says: 'Ultimately, record keeping on all three client files was poor. Details of advice processes, if undertaken, could not be substantiated.'
- File notes ASIC found were not accurate (19 June 2026). ASIC announced it had banned Brett Anthony Newbound for 10 years and cancelled the licences of Freedom Wealth Services Pty Ltd (media release 26-128MR). ASIC found that, in three instances, he created, or caused to be created, file notes that did not accurately reflect client interactions in order to justify charging ongoing service fees. The release says Mr Newbound and the company have applied to the Administrative Review Tribunal for a review of ASIC's decision, and no hearing date had been set.
- ASIC's current focus (9 September 2026). Writing about superannuation contribution and rollover advice, ASIC listed 'inadequately document the basis for advice' among the issues it keeps seeing, and said: 'Records should clearly show the inquiries made, information relied on and reasons why the advice is appropriate.'
Two lessons come out of these. In the 2023 and 2024 matters the problem the panels described was proof: the files could not show the advice process. And accuracy matters as much as volume. In the 2026 matter, which is under review, ASIC treated file notes it found did not reflect what happened as going to whether the adviser was a fit and proper person.
What to record: a working table
| Element | What to write in the note | Provision it evidences |
|---|---|---|
| Who, when, how | Date, time, who attended, whether by phone, video or in person, and who wrote the note. | Code Standard 8 (complete and accurate records) |
| What the client asked for | The client's request in their own terms, and the scope you agreed, including what was left out and why. | s 961B(2)(a) and (b) |
| Circumstances and inquiries | What you asked, what the client told you, and what you checked against a document (statements, policy schedules, fund records). | s 961B(2)(a) and (c); RG 175.333 |
| Gaps and warnings | Any information the client could not or would not give, and the warning you gave that the advice is based on incomplete information. | s 961H |
| Products and strategies considered | What you investigated, including options you ruled out and the reason. | s 961B(2)(e); RG 175.333 |
| The advice and reasons | What you recommended and why it fits this client's circumstances. | s 912G(2)(c); s 961G |
| Conflicts | Any benefit to you, your licensee or a related party, and how the client's interests were put first. | s 912G(2)(d); s 961J |
| Client response and next steps | What the client decided, what they declined, and who does what by when. | s 912G(2)(a); RG 175.338 (defending a claim) |
For a longer walk through each element, see what to record in a financial advice file note and the s 961B safe harbour steps. Our best interests duty file note checklist turns the table into something you can tick off.
A worked example
This is a review call where further advice is likely. The client is invented.
- What the client asked for
Marguerite has received a $40,000 inheritance and wants to know whether to put some of it into superannuation before the end of the financial year to reduce her tax. She asked for advice on that question only. We agreed not to review her investment options or insurance on this call. Both were reviewed in the Statement of Advice dated 3 November 2025.
- Circumstances and what was checked
- She is 54, employed full time, and her salary has not changed since November 2025.
- Asked whether she has any other super funds, a pension account or salary sacrifice arrangements. She has one fund and no salary sacrifice.
- Asked her to read out the employer contributions shown on her fund's website for this financial year. Checked the figure against her latest fund statement on file.
- She did not know whether she has unused concessional cap amounts from earlier years. Told her we will confirm this from her fund and tax records before any recommendation is made.
- Options discussed
- A personal contribution she claims a tax deduction for. Explained how it works, the notice she must give her fund, and that she cannot access the money until she meets a condition of release.
- A contribution she does not claim a deduction for. No tax saving this year. Discussed and set aside because her stated aim is reducing this year's tax.
- Paying down her mortgage. She raised it. Explained the trade-off between access to the money and the tax saving. She wants to compare the two in writing.
- Warning given
Told Marguerite that no recommendation can be given today because her available cap space has not been confirmed, and that contributing more than the cap would mean extra tax.
- Conflicts
None identified. Our advice fee is a fixed fee and does not change with the amount she contributes.
- Next steps
- Marguerite: send her myGov super contribution summary and last year's tax return by 19 May 2026.
- Us: confirm cap space, then give written advice comparing the deductible contribution with the mortgage option by 29 May 2026.
The note makes six things provable later: the scope and why it was limited, the inquiries made, the document a figure was checked against, an option ruled out with the reason, the warning, and the conflicts position.
When to write it, and who can draft it
Neither s 912G nor RG 175 sets a deadline for writing a file note. The practical standard is the same day, because a note written from memory a week later is weaker evidence and more likely to be wrong, and Standard 8 requires records that are complete and accurate.
Nothing in s 912G says who or what must draft the record. An assistant, a paraplanner or software can prepare it. The adviser who was in the conversation needs to check it before it goes on the file, because the licensee answers for its accuracy. Our article on AI note takers and ASIC compliance covers the checks to run on a tool.
This is the job CallNote does. It turns a call or meeting transcript that already exists into a file note in your licensee's format. It never records the call and never stores audio. You review the draft, then publish it, and the published note is sealed with a SHA-256 checksum and locked, with append-only amendments and an audit log. Data is hosted in Sydney. If your firm uses HubSpot or Microsoft Dynamics 365, the published note is written to the client's record there. There is no native integration with Xplan or AdviserLogic, so for those the note reaches the client file by PDF or copy and paste. More on CallNote for financial advisers.
Is any of this about to change?
Possibly, and not yet. Treasury's March 2025 exposure draft for the second tranche of the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes reforms proposed moving the record-keeping rule into the Act itself. That has not been legislated, and Instrument 2024/508 remains in force. We set out what has passed and what is only proposed in client advice record vs statement of advice.
Common questions
What are ASIC's file note requirements for financial advisers?
ASIC does not prescribe a file note format. Under s 912G of the Corporations Act 2001, inserted by ASIC Instrument 2024/508, a licensee must keep records of the information relied on and action taken to meet the best interests duty, the advice given and why it is appropriate under s 961G, and how any conflict under s 961J was handled. Records must be kept for seven years after the advice and be able to be produced.
How long must a financial adviser keep file notes?
At least seven years after the day the personal advice was provided to the client, under s 912G(3) of the Corporations Act 2001 as inserted by ASIC Instrument 2024/508. The licensee must be able to access and produce the records for that whole period, and the obligation continues if the licence or the adviser's authorisation ends. Many licensees keep files longer.
Is a file note a legal requirement for financial advisers?
The law requires records, and does not use the words 'file note'. ASIC's Regulatory Guide 175 at RG 175.337 lists file notes, including records of conversations, among the forms records can take, alongside the advice document, correspondence, working papers, fact-finding documents and audio recordings. In practice a file note is the only place most client conversations get recorded.
What happens if an adviser's file notes are inadequate?
The adviser may be unable to prove the best interests duty was met. In two Financial Services and Credit Panel outcomes dated 31 August 2023, a provider who had not kept adequate records could not prove they had performed the s 961B(2) steps and was directed to have their next 10 pieces of advice independently pre-vetted. In November 2024 a panel suspended an adviser's registration for three months where the advice process could not be substantiated from the files.
Can AI write a financial adviser's file notes?
Yes. Nothing in s 912G or RG 175 says who or what must draft the record. The record has to be accurate, show the inquiries made and the reasons for the advice, and be kept and producible for seven years. The adviser who was in the conversation should check the draft before it goes on the file, because Code of Ethics Standard 8 requires records that are complete and accurate.