RG 246 — Conflicted and Banned Remuneration

Which adviser payments ASIC bans, what is still allowed, and how to spot it

What Is RG 246?

Regulatory Guide 246 is ASIC's guidance on conflicted and other banned remuneration for AFS licensees, representatives and product issuers. It interprets Divisions 4 and 5 of Part 7.7A of the Corporations Act — the FOFA bans that apply to financial product advice to retail clients and certain life risk insurance benefits. ASIC reissued RG 246 in November 2024.

Where our conflicted remuneration guide explains the consumer story of FOFA bans, this page focuses on the RG 246 regulatory test: what counts as a benefit that could reasonably be expected to influence advice, how ASIC administers the provisions, and what must appear in your documents.

What Counts as Banned

The core test is influence. Any monetary or non-monetary benefit given to a licensee or representative that could reasonably be expected to influence the choice of product or the advice is conflicted remuneration and is banned. This includes upfront and trailing investment commissions, volume-based bonuses tied to sales targets, shelf-space fees from platform operators, and soft-dollar benefits such as overseas conferences, hospitality or IT subsidies above genuine education or minor-benefit thresholds.

Other banned remuneration includes certain asset-based fees on borrowed amounts and volume-based shelf-space fees. Grandfathered investment commissions from pre-July 2013 arrangements were fully switched off from 1 July 2024 under DBFO, so no legacy investment commission should appear in a 2026 SOA. If your document still shows trailing investment commissions, query it in writing.

What Is Still Allowed

Life risk insurance commissions remain permitted within legislated caps — currently up to 60% of first-year premium and 20% ongoing — provided your adviser obtains your informed, written consent and renews it regularly. General insurance, consumer credit insurance and basic banking products sit outside the relevant-product bans. Genuine education and training that meets the statutory criteria, and minor benefits under $300 per adviser per year, are also excluded if disclosed and recorded.

Fee-for-service, fixed fees and asset-based advice fees paid by you (not by a product issuer) are not conflicted remuneration. The distinction matters: a 1% advice fee you agree to pay your adviser is allowed; a 1% commission the same adviser receives from a fund manager for recommending that fund is banned. Your SOA should make the source of every payment explicit.

How to Check Your SOA and FSG

Start with the FSG: it must state how your adviser is paid, who pays them, and any associations with product issuers. Then check the SOA fees section against RG 175.123 and RG 246: every commission, bonus, benefit and share of fees must appear in dollar terms where ascertainable, with the payer named and the conflict explained. Vague lines such as remuneration may be received do not meet the standard.

Cross-check against the ASIC Financial Advisers Register for licensee ownership and disciplinary history. If disclosure is missing or refers only to percentages, ask for dollar amounts over 1, 3 and 5 years, confirmation that no banned volume benefits were received, and a copy of your life-insurance consent form where relevant. Keep the reply with your advice documents.

Enforcement and Complaints

ASIC actively surveils conflicted remuneration, including fee-for-no-service, unregistered advice and inappropriate product switching that generates commissions. Breaches can lead to bans, licence conditions, infringement notices and court penalties — see our ASIC enforcement tracker. For consumers, undisclosed or banned remuneration supports a complaint to the licensee's internal dispute resolution team and then to AFCA, which can award up to $1 million (higher caps for super complaints).

AdviserCheck's fees and conflicts layer scans for dollar disclosure, named payers, consent language for insurance commissions, and contradictions between stated independence and disclosed benefits. Findings are mapped to s961J conflicts priority, RG 175 disclosure and RG 246 bans.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are all commissions banned?
No. Most investment commissions and volume benefits are banned, but life risk insurance commissions within caps with consent, plus general insurance and certain excluded benefits, remain allowed.

What are soft-dollar benefits?
Non-cash benefits such as travel, events or subsidies from product issuers. They are banned unless they qualify as genuine education or minor benefits under $300 and are disclosed.

What should I do if commissions are not disclosed?
Request written dollar disclosure of every benefit linked to your recommendations. If refused, complain via IDR then AFCA and consider reporting to ASIC.

How does RG 246 differ from RG 181?
RG 246 targets banned pay structures. RG 181 covers the broader duty to identify, manage and disclose all conflicts of interest under s912A(1)(aa), including non-remuneration conflicts such as ownership and referral ties.