How to Check a Forex Broker Is ASIC Regulated

How do you check a forex broker is ASIC regulated?

Search the broker’s legal entity name or licence number on ASIC’s Professional Registers Search and confirm the licence is current. An ASIC-regulated forex broker is one whose legal entity holds an Australian financial services licence (AFSL) from ASIC. On the record, check that the name matches the firm you are dealing with and that the website in use is listed against the licence.

Check the licence on ASIC’s register, step by step

Work through the steps below on ASIC’s Professional Registers Search, which updates its registers once a day.

1. Note the company name and AFS licence number the firm quotes.
2. Open the register search and choose the register for Australian financial services licensees.
3. Search by the licence number, or by the company name, ACN or ABN.
4. Check that the status is current and that the name on the record matches the firm exactly.
5. Check whether the website you are using is listed on the record as one of the licensee’s websites, and if it is not, be cautious and contact the licensee through the principal website the register shows.
6. Read the licence conditions, which say what the licensee is authorised to do and whether it may deal with retail clients.
7. Search ASIC Connect’s Banned and Disqualified register for the firm and the people involved.

The register records the legal entity, not the brand, so the name on an advertisement may not be the name to search for. ASIC also says a website claiming to belong to a licensee but missing from the record is a reason to be cautious. If the site you are using is not listed against the licence, I would not deposit a cent until the firm explains the gap.

Licence details for every broker we cover

The table lists, for every broker we cover, the legal entity, AFSL number, register check date and source. Each row comes from the dated register screenshot the broker’s review publishes; check dates run from July to August 2026. David Levy verifies every published number against source documents. A row is a reading on the date shown, not a live record, so my advice is to run the live search before a deposit. The entity column matters: Fusion Markets and Global Prime share one licence, FMGP Trading Group Pty Ltd, AFSL 385620, with both brands’ websites listed against it. The table filters by broker, company or AFSL number.

Check Moneysmart’s investor alert list

Moneysmart’s investor alert list names companies, businesses and websites that may be targeting Australians, hold no AFS licence or credit licence, and are not allowed to offer investments here. Its entries fall into three categories: “Unlicensed”, “Unlicensed (Legacy)”, carried over from an older discontinued ASIC list, and “Imposter”. The list is not exhaustive, so a name missing from it does not make a firm safe. ASIC reported in June 2026 that since the list launched in late 2023, about 20% of new listings involve impersonation of an ASIC licensee, a licensee’s authorised representative or a registered company, which is why I’d treat the alert list as a second check, never a substitute for the register.

Check the broker is an AFCA member

AFS licensees that provide financial services to retail clients must be members of AFCA, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, by law, and a licensee that is not a member is in breach of its licence obligations. You can confirm membership with AFCA’s Find a financial firm search. AFCA says membership does not mean it endorses a firm or its services, so I would confirm membership as a compliance check and look elsewhere for evidence of quality.

How to spot an imposter or clone firm

Criminals copy the names, licence numbers and websites of real AFS licensees to build fake sites and run investment scam advertisements, ASIC warned on 17 June 2026. The common name for this is a “clone firm”; ASIC’s word is “imposter”. The consequence is that a real licence number on a website proves nothing by itself. The better check is whether the register lists the website you are on against that licence and whether the name matches. Where the site you are on is not listed, ASIC’s advice is that you be cautious and contact the licensee using the principal website shown on the register, or research further. I would read ASIC’s warning about imposter scams before depositing anywhere new.

These warning signs come from ASIC’s list of website red flags, dated August 2026, and from Moneysmart’s warning signs.

• The quoted “licence number” is really an ACN or belongs to a different entity.
• The site’s details differ from what ASIC’s register shows for that licensee.
• The terms and conditions name a different company from the one marketing to you.
• Constant contact and pressure to decide quickly.
• The web address imitates a legitimate firm’s address or does not match the site’s content.
• The domain’s age contradicts what the site claims about its history.
• The site asks for payment in crypto, or promises very high returns.
• It confuses CFDs, forex, shares and bonds, or its products differ from what its advertisements promised.

What an ASIC licence covers, and what it does not

For a retail client, an AFSL brings real protections. The licensee has met ASIC’s licensing requirements: financial resources, risk management and client money handling. It must follow the CFD Product Intervention Order, in force since 29 March 2021 and extended to 23 May 2027: leverage capped at 30:1 on major currency pairs, negative balance protection, a close-out when equity falls below 50% of the required margin, and a ban on inducements. It must also belong to AFCA. Our ASIC retail CFD protections page covers each in detail.

The licence does not make a broker safe. ASIC says a licence “does not guarantee the probity or quality of the licensee’s services”. Moneysmart adds that a licence is not an endorsement of the company, its products or its advice, and does not guarantee an investment is safe or that money will not be lost. Counterparty risk remains if a provider fails or becomes insolvent. In my view, the check shows who ASIC holds accountable and which protections apply to your account. What it cannot show is whether the firm is run well, and I would weigh that separately before you deposit.