RG 273 changed what a broker has to be able to show. Responsible lending asks whether a loan is "not unsuitable". Since 2021 you also have to act in each client's best interests, and ASIC expects the evidence to come from your own records. RG 273 is where ASIC says what that looks like and how it will assess it.
The duty itself sits in Part 3-5A of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (the NCCP Act). RG 273 is the guidance layer on top of it. Your licensee and aggregator will often expect more than the guide describes, so check their policy too.
What is RG 273?
RG 273 is a regulatory guide. ASIC uses regulatory guides to explain how it interprets the law and to give practical guidance, and RG 273 says of itself that it sets out ASIC's views on what the best interests obligations require and the steps brokers can take to minimise the risk of non-compliance. The guide's document history says it was issued in June 2020, and that is still the version on ASIC's website as at October 2026. It runs to 186 numbered paragraphs and 21 worked examples.
It is guidance, and the guide itself says it is not legal advice. The obligations it explains are in the NCCP Act: s 158LA (best interests duty) and s 158LB (conflict priority rule) for licensees, and s 158LE and s 158LF for credit representatives. All four are civil penalty provisions.
Two things RG 273 is clear about from the start. The Act does not set out circumstances in which a broker is taken to have complied, so there is no safe harbour (RG 273.28). And the obligations cannot be avoided by a notice or disclaimer given to or signed by the consumer, or by getting the consumer to consent to a conflict (RG 273.14).
You will see it written as RG 273 and as RG273. ASIC writes it with a space. Both mean the same guide.
Who RG 273 applies to
RG 273 applies to mortgage brokers, whether they hold their own credit licence or act as a credit representative, and to the credit licensees that authorise them. RG 273.7 repeats the definition in s 15B of the NCCP Act. A mortgage broker is a person who:
- carries on a business of providing credit assistance in relation to credit contracts secured by mortgages over residential property
- does not act as the credit provider in relation to most of those contracts, and
- provides credit assistance in relation to credit contracts offered by more than one credit provider.
The title on your business card does not decide it. RG 273.8 says a mortgage manager who meets these criteria is subject to the duty, and RG 273.123 to RG 273.128 deal with mortgage managers. Someone who only arranges loans from a single credit provider does not meet the third limb.
Licensees have their own obligation. Under s 158LE(2) and s 158LF(2) a licensee must take reasonable steps to ensure its credit representatives comply, and RG 273.179 says ASIC generally expects licensees to train their brokers, give them systems and guidelines, monitor compliance and ensure appropriate records are kept. RG 273.177 says the obligation is about preventing breaches, as well as responding to them.
The key paragraphs of RG 273
The guide has four sections. This table shows where each topic sits, so you can go straight to the paragraphs you need.
| Topic | Paragraphs | What you will find |
|---|---|---|
| Overview and ASIC's approach | RG 273.1 to RG 273.25 | The obligations in summary. No prescriptive steps (RG 273.12). Evidence of compliance comes predominantly from the broker's records (RG 273.21). The duty sits alongside responsible lending and does not replace it (RG 273.22 to RG 273.24). |
| What the duty is | RG 273.26 to RG 273.29 | No safe harbour (RG 273.28). Table 1 sets out ASIC's three-step view of compliance. |
| Gathering information | RG 273.30 to RG 273.43 | Finding out why the consumer has come to you, what they want to achieve and what they value. |
| Making an individual assessment | RG 273.44 to RG 273.86 | Considering a range of products and assessing what is in this consumer's best interests. Cost is at RG 273.51 to RG 273.58, including the costs of refinancing. |
| Presenting information and recommendations | RG 273.87 to RG 273.104 | Explaining how the recommendation achieves the consumer's objectives relative to the other options (RG 273.90). A shortlist with one recommended option (RG 273.92 to RG 273.93). |
| Interaction with responsible lending | RG 273.105 to RG 273.111 | How the two sets of obligations fit together. The appendix compares them side by side. |
| When the duty applies | RG 273.116 to RG 273.122 | Every time you provide credit assistance, including when you suggest a consumer stay in their current loan (RG 273.119). |
| Conflict priority rule | RG 273.144 to RG 273.161 | Identifying conflicts, prioritising the consumer, why disclosure is not enough (RG 273.158), and commission scenarios that fail the rule (RG 273.159). |
| Record keeping | RG 273.162 to RG 273.172 | What ASIC expects on file (RG 273.165), the forms records can take (RG 273.167), how long to keep them (RG 273.168) and contemporaneous notes (RG 273.169). |
| Obligations for credit licensees | RG 273.173 to RG 273.179 | Reasonable steps to ensure brokers comply, including monitoring and file reviews. |
| Anti-avoidance | RG 273.180 to RG 273.186 | The ban on schemes designed to avoid the best interests obligations. |
What "acting in the client's best interests" requires
RG 273 frames the duty as a process. Table 1 of the guide has three steps: gather information about the consumer, make an individual assessment, then present information and recommendations. The conflict priority rule runs across all three. In practice it comes down to a few things you can do and record.
- Gather enough information about the client and their situation to understand what they need. How much depends on the client, but it has to be enough to form a genuine view.
- Assess what credit assistance and which products would be in that client's best interests, based on what you gathered.
- Present the options in a way the client understands, including why you selected the options you did and why you recommended the one you recommended.
- Prioritise the client where there is a conflict between their interests and yours or a related party's. This is the conflict priority rule.
What RG 273 says to record
Here is the part that turns the guide into daily work. RG 273.162 says ASIC expects you to keep records of how you acted when providing credit assistance, including the inquiries you made into the consumer's circumstances and the consideration, investigation and assessment of the products you recommend. RG 273.165 lists what those records generally include: the responsible lending assessment, the credit guide, the information given to the lender, application outcomes, relevant conversations with the consumer, information showing you acted in their best interests, the options and recommendation with your reasons, and any conflict you identified and what you did about it. RG 273.167 names file notes, including records of conversations, as one of the forms a record can take.
In other words, the duty is invisible unless you write it down. If a complaint, an audit, or an AFCA dispute lands two years from now, nobody can see the good conversation you had or the careful thinking you did. They can only see the file. A thin note that says "discussed options, recommended Lender X" does not show you acted in the client's best interests. A BID-ready note does. We go through the note itself, with a checklist and a worked example, in best interests duty for mortgage brokers: what your file note must show.
What a BID-ready file note captures
A file note that supports the best interests duty needs to answer, in the client's specific situation, what they wanted, what you considered, and why your recommendation was in their interests. The table below maps each part of the duty to what your note should record.
| Part of the duty | What your note records |
|---|---|
| Client's needs and circumstances | Employment and income, dependants, existing debts, plans that affect the next few years, and anything that shapes what the client needs from the loan |
| Requirements and objectives | What the client actually wants and why, in their words: purpose, amount, features they care about (offset, fixed portion, redraw), term, and how they ranked priorities |
| Options considered | Which products and lenders you looked at, and which you set aside. Enough to show you genuinely searched, not just picked the easy one |
| Why this recommendation | The specific reasons this product is in the client's best interests over the alternatives: rate, features, serviceability, settlement timing, or a feature they needed |
| Conflicts and priority | Any conflict of interest or related-party relationship, and how you prioritised the client. If a cheaper option existed, why the recommendation was still in their interests |
| Instructions and next steps | What the client decided, what they instructed you to do, and the agreed actions |
Common failure points
- No record of options considered. The note shows the recommendation but nothing about what else was on the table, so there is no evidence you searched.
- Reasoning missing. "Recommended Lender X" with no "because". The recommendation is there, the best-interests logic is not.
- Relying on disclosure. Treating a signed conflict disclosure as if it discharges the duty. It does not.
- Thin needs capture. Vague objectives like "wants to refinance" instead of the specific, ranked priorities that drove the recommendation.
- Notes written late. A record reconstructed weeks later carries far less weight than a contemporaneous one written at or near the time of the call.
- Editable notes. A file that can be quietly rewritten later is worth less than one that is locked, with amendments added as dated entries.
How CallNote helps you document your RG 273 obligations
CallNote never records your calls and never sits in on them. It receives the transcript your phone or meeting system already made - you paste it, forward it by email, upload a voice memo, or connect a phone system like Dialpad or Aircall - and drafts a structured file note from it in about two minutes.
For brokers, the note is built around the elements above: the client's needs and circumstances, their requirements and objectives, the options considered, the reasoning behind the recommendation, conflicts and priority, and next steps. CallNote pulls what the transcript actually contains into each section and flags where something is thin, so you can fill the gap before you publish the note. It helps you document your RG 273 and best interests duty obligations. It does not decide whether you met them - that judgement is yours.
You keep control of the wording, because CallNote uses your own house style and prompt, not a fixed form. The flow is Generate from the transcript, Review and correct on screen, then publish it. Once locked, the note is timestamped, SHA-256 sealed, and append-only, so any later amendment is a dated entry rather than a silent rewrite. That is the contemporaneous, tamper-evident record a reviewer wants to see. Your data is stored in Australia (Sydney), encrypted, and never used to train AI models.
For the mechanics of a defensible note, see how to write a compliant NCCP file note, and for a comparison of the tools brokers use, our roundup of file note software for mortgage brokers.
Common questions
What is RG 273?
RG 273 is ASIC Regulatory Guide 273, Mortgage brokers: Best interests duty, issued on 24 June 2020. It sets out ASIC's views on what the best interests duty and the conflict priority rule require of mortgage brokers, and the steps brokers can take to minimise the risk of non-compliance. The obligations it explains are in Part 3-5A of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 and have applied since 1 January 2021.
Who does RG 273 apply to?
Mortgage brokers, whether licensees or credit representatives, and the credit licensees that authorise them. Under s 15B of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 a mortgage broker carries on a business of providing credit assistance for loans secured over residential property, does not act as the credit provider for most of them, and deals in loans from more than one credit provider. RG 273.8 says a mortgage manager who meets that definition is covered too.
Is RG 273 law?
No. RG 273 is ASIC guidance, and the guide itself says it does not constitute legal advice. The law is in the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009: s 158LA and s 158LB for licensees, and s 158LE and s 158LF for credit representatives, all civil penalty provisions. RG 273 tells you how ASIC interprets those sections and what it expects to see.
What records does RG 273 expect brokers to keep?
RG 273.165 lists them: the responsible lending assessment, the credit guide, information given to the lender, application outcomes, relevant conversations with the consumer, information showing you acted in their best interests, the options and recommendation with reasons, and any conflict identified and how the consumer was prioritised. RG 273.167 says records can be file notes, correspondence, working papers, comparison tool outputs and fact finds, among other forms.
Does RG 273 give brokers a safe harbour?
No. RG 273.28 says the National Credit Act does not set out circumstances in which a mortgage broker is taken to have complied, so there is no safe harbour. RG 273.14 adds that a broker cannot comply merely by getting the consumer to consent to certain credit assistance or to a conflict of interest, and RG 273.158 says disclosure alone does not satisfy the conflict priority rule.
Does CallNote decide whether I met the best interests duty?
No. CallNote helps you document your RG 273 and best interests duty obligations by drafting a structured note from your call transcript and flagging where a section is thin. Whether you actually met the duty is a judgement for you and your licensee. CallNote never records your calls - it works from a transcript your phone or meeting system already produced.