Australia: Net Tangible Asset Requirement Set to Increase for Responsible Entities

Aug 10 2026

ASIC has announced that it will increase the net tangible assets (NTA) requirement for responsible entities of registered managed investment schemes (MIS), operators of investor directed portfolio services (IDPS) and corporate directors of retail corporate collective investment vehicles (CCIVs). The changes are set to commence on 1 July 2027.

Background

Pursuant to ASIC Corporations (Financial Requirements for Responsible Entities, IDPS Operators and Corporate Directors of Retail CCIVs) Instrument 2023/647 (ASIC Instrument 2023/647), responsible entities of a registered MIS, IDPS operators and corporate directors of retail CCIVs must hold at all times, a minimum NTA to meet their licensing obligations.

Since 2013, the minimum financial thresholds have not been updated. The increased values are set to reflect inflation since that period.

The aim of this increase is to ensure responsible entities continue to hold adequate financial resources to meet operating costs, provide assurance that there is sufficient liquidity in the event of any unexpected and immediate expenses, and protect scheme members.

During ASIC’s consultation period, in which Consultation Paper 388 (CP 388) was released, it considered various approaches to increasing the NTA requirement. Stakeholders and respondents to CP 388 largely supported Option 1, being an increase of the financial thresholds in line with inflation.

Changes

In adoption of Option 1, the revised ASIC Instrument 2023/647 will, at a high level:

for providers using an external licensed custodian:
- increase the $150,000 NTA minimum to $200,000; and
- increase $5 million cap (which applies to the 0.5% of fund assets limb) to $6.9 million;
for providers holding only certain types of assets, increase the $500,000 NTA minimum to $700,000; and
for all other providers, increase the $10 million NTA minimum to $13.8 million.

The NTA minimum will also be indexed annually to ensure the thresholds remain in line with inflation.

Next steps

Over the upcoming months, ASIC will update ASIC Instrument 2023/647 and Regulatory Guide 166: AFS Licensing Financial Requirements to reflect the amendments.

If you are impacted by these changes, you will need to ensure that you meet the new minimum thresholds by 1 July 2027.