ASIC Corporations (Financial Requirements for CSF Intermediaries) Instrument 2017/339

The statute establishes five core operational concepts.

1. Scope and exclusions. The rule applies to a "financial services licensee" that is a "CSF intermediary" and then lists exclusions including APRA‑regulated bodies that fall outside a specific subsection, market participants, clearing participants and several classes of licensees with particular AFS authorisations (s 912AH(1)(a)-(b)). The definitions of "market participant" and "clearing participant" are tethered to s 761A and market/operator rules (s 912AH(7) and final paragraphs).

2. Cash‑needs projection. Licensees must prepare a projection of cash flows for at least the next 12 months (the text retains a transitional reference to 3 months "on or before 30 June 2020"), and that projection must be based on the licensee’s "reasonable estimate" of likely events (s 912AH(2)(a)). The projection must be approved in writing at least quarterly by the responsible persons (s 912AH(2)(b)).

3. Documentation and update obligations. The licensee must document calculations and assumptions used to prepare the projection and must describe why those assumptions are appropriate (s 912AH(2)(c)). The projection must be updated if it ceases to cover the required period or if there is reason to suspect a material difference (s 912AH(2)(d)).

4. Minimum cash holding. The licensee must hold at all times, during the projection period, cash equal to at least 5% of the greater of: (i) the cash outflow for the projected period (adjusted pro rata to a 12‑month equivalent if the projection is shorter), or (ii) the licensee’s actual cash outflow for the most recent financial year of at least 360 days for which a profit and loss statement exists (s 912AH(2)(f)). The text provides an explicit numerical example of the pro‑rata adjustment.

5. Auditor assurance and lodgement. A registered company auditor must deliver to the licensee and ASIC, for each financial year and any additional period ASIC directs, a report stating whether the licensee complied with specified elements of the section (s 912AH(3)). The auditor must opine not only on the existence of the projection and the cash holding but also on the adequacy of systems for managing the risk of insufficient financial resources, correctness of the projection’s calculations and reasonableness of the assumptions relied on (s 912AH(3)(a)-(b)). The audit opinion must be lodged with the balance sheet required under s 989B (s 912AH(4)(a)) and otherwise at ASIC’s direction (s 912AH(4)(b)).

Ancillary concepts relate to what counts as "cash" for the buffer (s 912AH(6)) and how to measure "cash flow" (s 912AH(7)). "Cash" can include current assets expected to be exchanged within five business days and a committed funding facility from an Australian ADI or ASIC‑approved entity that can be drawn within five business days and is not repayable for at least a month (s 912AH(6)(a)-(b)). The availability of such amounts when held as trustee requires that the licensee have no reason to believe the amount will not be available to meet the projected outflows (s 912AH(6) final limb). The "cash flow" concept includes the licensee’s own cash flow and, where substantially all of the business is carried on as trustee, the trust’s cash flow, but excludes any other trust’s cash flow (s 912AH(7)).

Finally, the section links to other licensing and financial‑resource provisions. It notes that paragraph 912A(1)(h) requires adequate risk management systems for licensees generally; it also provides that a licensee to whom subsection 912AC(5) applies is "taken to comply" with section 912AC while it complies with this section (s 912AH(5)).

These concepts create an operational compliance regime: regular internal forecasting and sign‑off, a statutory liquidity buffer sized by either projected or historical cash outflows, an annual external assurance engagement with specific audit scope, and documentary evidence to show assumptions, calculations and availability of liquidity.

The primary legal target is a "financial services licensee" that is a CSF intermediary (s 912AH(1)(a)). In practice, that means AFS licence holders authorised to provide crowd‑sourced funding intermediary services. The section lists express exclusions in s 912AH(1)(b). Entities excluded include:

• APRA‑regulated bodies that are not required to comply with paragraph 912A(1)(d) (s 912AH(1)(b)(i));
• "market participant" as defined by reference to s 761A and particular market operators and their rules (s 912AH(1)(b)(ii) and s 912AH(7) definitions);
• "clearing participant" as defined by reference to s 761A and ASX Clear operating rules (s 912AH(1)(b)(iii) and s 912AH(7));
• licensees holding an AFS licence authorising them to operate a registered scheme as responsible entity, operate an IDPS as defined in ASIC Corporations (Investor Directed Portfolio Services) Instrument 2023/669, or provide custodial or depository services, unless subsection 912AC(5) applies to them (s 912AH(1)(b)(iv)(A)-(C));
• a licensee to which section 912AB applies as notionally inserted by ASIC Corporations (Financial Requirements for Issuers of Retail OTC Derivatives) Instrument 2022/705 (s 912AH(1)(b)(v)).

The market‑participant and clearing‑participant exclusions are themselves qualified by a reasonableness test: they apply where the participant "reasonably believes it complies" with the relevant market or clearing rules imposing financial requirements, taking account of any waivers (s 912AH(7) definitions). That frames the exclusion as being conditional on the participant’s reasonable belief about compliance with other financial requirements.

Licences that are subject to section 912AC(5) (as notionally inserted by an ASIC instrument) are given a transitional or definitional relationship: compliance with this section is taken to satisfy the requirements of 912AC for those licensees while they comply with it (s 912AH(5)).

Operationally, the duties fall on the licensee entity, with specific sign‑off obligations placed on the entity’s responsible persons: directors in the case of a body corporate; partners in the case of a partnership; trustees in the case of a trust; and the natural person where the licensee is an individual, s 912AH(2)(b)(i)-(iii).

Secondary stakeholders affected in practice include auditors (registered company auditors must prepare the audit opinion under s 912AH(3)), ADIs or other entities that provide committed funding (because commitments must satisfy timing and non‑repayment conditions to count as "cash", s 912AH(6)(b)), and ASIC, which receives lodged audit opinions and has power to direct lodgement periods (s 912AH(4)(a)-(b)).

Finally, where a licensee operates substantially all its financial services business as trustee of a trust, the licensee’s obligations incorporate the trust’s cash flow (s 912AH(7)(b)), subject to the caveat that cash flows of other trusts are excluded (s 912AH(7) final limb). That point affects the structure of corporate groups and trusteeship arrangements.

Key duties are expressed in mandatory language and are principally procedural, documentary and quantitative.

Duties

1. Projection preparation and approval. The licensee must prepare a cash‑flow projection for at least the next 12 months (with a temporary 3‑month reference for certain timing) based on reasonable estimates, and the projection must be approved in writing at least quarterly by the persons specified (directors, partners, trustees, or the individual licensee), s 912AH(2)(a)-(b).

2. Documentation. The licensee must document the calculations and assumptions used to prepare the projection and explain why those assumptions are appropriate, s 912AH(2)(c).

3. Updating projections. The licensee must update projections if the projection ceases to cover the required period or if there is reason to suspect that an updated projection would differ materially or would show non‑compliance with the access and cash‑holding requirements, s 912AH(2)(d).

4. Access and cash‑holding assessment. The licensee must document whether (based on the projection) it will have access when needed to enough financial resources to meet its liabilities over the projected period, and whether it will hold at all times during the projection period the cash amount required under s 912AH(2)(f), s 912AH(2)(e)(i)-(ii).

5. Minimum cash buffer. Hold in cash at least 5% of the greater of either: the projected 12‑month cash outflow (pro rata adjusted if projection is shorter) or the actual cash outflow for the most recent financial year of at least 360 days for which a P&L statement exists, s 912AH(2)(f).

6. Auditor opinion and lodgement. Arrange for a registered company auditor to deliver an audit opinion addressing a specified set of matters for each financial year and any other period ASIC directs, and lodge that opinion with ASIC as required (s 912AH(3)-(4)).

7. Maintain systems to manage the risk of insufficient financial resources. The auditor must form an opinion about the adequacy of such systems following examination of underlying calculations and documentation (s 912AH(3)(b)(i)). The section itself references the separate obligation under 912A(1)(h) to have adequate risk management systems (the text gives this as a note in s 912AH(3)(b)(i)).

Rights, qualifications and constructive effects

• Counting certain liquid assets and committed funding as "cash". The section allows particular near‑cash current assets and a committed funding facility from an Australian ADI or ASIC‑approved entity to be treated as "cash" for the purpose of the buffer, provided timing and availability conditions are met (s 912AH(6)(a)-(b)). That creates an operational flexibility where a licensee can meet the cash‑holding test with demonstrable near‑liquid assets or committed facilities, subject to availability and timing constraints.

• Deemed compliance linkage. Where 912AC(5) applies to a licensee, that licensee is "taken to comply" with section 912AC while it complies with this section (s 912AH(5)). This operates as a legal bridge between related financial requirements, effectively granting a compliance pathway for certain custodial/depository service providers.

• Exclusion for certain regulated entities. The express exclusions in s 912AH(1)(b) operate as substantive carve outs; entities meeting those exclusion conditions are outside the section’s scope, subject to the reasonableness qualifiers in the market/clearing participant definitions.

• Administrative discretion for ASIC. ASIC may direct lodgement for periods other than financial years and set lodgement dates for audit opinions (s 912AH(4)(b)), a procedural right for the regulator that changes the timing and frequency of external reporting on a licence holder.

The duties are framed as ongoing, with quarterly internal approvals and annual external audit confirmation, and with a continuing requirement to hold the specified cash buffer at all times during the projection period.

The text of the section itself does not create explicit criminal offences, civil penalties, or administrative sanctions; rather it establishes documentary, liquidity and audit obligations and an ASIC lodgement pathway. The section explicitly gives ASIC power to direct additional audit opinion lodgement for periods and dates (s 912AH(4)(b)), which is an administrative lever to compel reporting.

Enforcement mechanics and potential penalties are not specified within the section. That means the section relies on the broader enforcement architecture of the Corporations Act and ASIC’s supervisory and licensing powers (the section cross‑references other licence conditions and reporting obligations, for example s 989B lodgement requirements and paragraph 912A(1)(h)), but those enforcement powers and penalty regimes lie outside the text provided. From the text itself we can only cite:

• Mandatory lodgement with ASIC of the audit opinion with the balance sheet required under s 989B for each financial year (s 912AH(4)(a)). ASIC’s receipt of these documents is therefore the prescribed reporting channel.

• ASIC’s power to direct additional audit opinion lodgement for any period and to set lodgement dates (s 912AH(4)(b)). Non‑compliance with an ASIC direction is not expressly described in the section.

• The auditor’s opinion is required to be by a "registered company auditor" and addressed to both the licensee and ASIC (s 912AH(3)). The audit opinion must opine on compliance with specified licence conditions and the reasonableness of projections, assumptions and systems (s 912AH(3)(a)-(b)). Failure to obtain or lodge such an opinion would be a breach of the reporting duty the section imposes.

Because the section cross‑references licence conditions and other parts of the Corporations Act (for example, the note referencing paragraph 912A(1)(h)), breach of the duties in s 912AH could in practice expose a licensee to regulatory action under those broader licensing and compliance provisions; however, the present text does not itself state how ASIC will enforce breaches, which sanctions apply, or the processes for administrative or civil penalty proceedings. Practitioners should therefore treat the section as creating discrete documentary and quantitative obligations that will feed into ASIC’s licensing supervision and enforcement discretion outside the section rather than as self‑contained penalty provisions.

The section is interwoven with other provisions and instruments by explicit cross‑reference.

1. Cross‑references to general licence obligations. The note in s 912AH(3)(b)(i) explicitly cites paragraph 912A(1)(h), which requires a licensee (other than certain APRA bodies) to have adequate risk management systems. The auditor’s required opinion includes a statement about whether there is reason to believe the licensee lacked adequate systems for managing the risk of insufficient resources, thereby linking the specific CSF financial‑resource obligations to the general risk‑management obligation in 912A(1)(h).

2. Interaction with 912AC and 912AB. The section makes two links to section 912AC: subsection 912AC(5) is referenced twice. First, in the scope exclusions (s 912AH(1)(b)(iv)(C)) the custodial or depository providers are excluded unless 912AC(5) applies; second, s 912AH(5) says that a licensee to whom subsection 912AC(5) applies is taken to comply with section 912AC while the licensee complies with this section. The exact content of 912AC and 912AC(5) is not provided in this text, but the present section creates an explicit compliance relationship between them. Section 912AB is also referenced in the exclusions (s 912AH(1)(b)(v)) as applied via an ASIC instrument; the result is that licence holders subject to those other specific regimes are carved out here.

3. References to ASIC instruments. The section refers to ASIC Corporations Instruments by number: ASIC Corporations (Investor Directed Portfolio Services) Instrument 2023/669 (for the definition of IDPS) and ASIC Corporations (Financial Requirements for Custodial or Depository Service Providers) Instrument 2023/648 (which notionally inserts 912AC(5)), and ASIC Corporations (Financial Requirements for Issuers of Retail OTC Derivatives) Instrument 2022/705 (which notionally inserts 912AB). These references mean the section’s scope and interplay are shaped by parallel ASIC instruments that modify or insert related financial‑requirements provisions.

4. Lodgement with other statutory returns. The audit opinion must be lodged with the balance sheet that the licensee is required to lodge under s 989B (s 912AH(4)(a)). That ties the audit‑opinion reporting into the statutory financial‑statement lodgement regime under the Corporations Act.

5. Definitions tied to s 761A and market rules. The definitions of "clearing participant" and "market participant" draw on the definition of "participant" in s 761A (s 912AH(7) and the final paragraphs), and the market‑participant exclusion explicitly depends on the participant’s reasonable belief that it complies with the ASIC Market Integrity Rules applicable to ASX or Chi‑X and any waivers (final paragraphs of the source). Therefore, compliance with market rules and waivers under those rules can operate functionally to exclude a participant from the CSF financial‑resource obligations.

6. Interaction with ADI regulation and ASIC approvals for funding commitments. The definition of "cash" in s 912AH(6)(b) allows a "commitment to provide money from an Australian ADI or an entity approved by ASIC in writing" to count as cash, subject to drawdown within five business days and the funding not being repayable for at least a month. That import of an ADI commitment intersects with banking law and ASIC’s approval power, in that ASIC may be asked to approve counting certain commitments as cash.

7. Temporal transitional phrasing. The recurring phrase "or, on or before 30 June 2020, 3 months" in several subparagraphs indicates transitional timing or earlier‑period implementation differences for the projection length. That suggests the section is designed to operate with a transitional period in mind, though the text does not provide the broader transitional schedule within the source. Practitioners must cross‑check the rest of the Corporations Act or instrument history to determine how that phrasing operates in time.

In short, the section is not self‑standing; it is designed to sit within the Corporations Act and a set of ASIC instruments and market rule regimes, using cross‑references to carve scope, create deemed compliance relationships and specify reporting channels (for example s 989B). The definitions that drive exclusions depend on participants’ interactions with market operating and clearing rules, and the treatment of committed funding as "cash" requires ADI involvement or ASIC approval.

The source text contains internal markers that indicate a history of drafting adjustments and linkages rather than a standalone legislative timeline. From the material supplied:

• Transitional references to projection length. The recurring parenthetical phrase "or, on or before 30 June 2020, 3 months" appended to the requirement for a projection of at least 12 months (s 912AH(2)(a) and elsewhere) records a temporal or transitional exception in the drafting. The text itself does not say when the 12‑month requirement first applied or whether the 3‑month reference was a prior transitional threshold. The only explicit date in the text is 30 June 2020, which appears to be a cut‑off for an earlier, shorter‑horizon requirement.

• Reliance on ASIC instruments that "notionally insert" other sections. The source refers to other provisions being "notionally inserted" by specified ASIC Corporations Instruments. Those instruments are named in the text:

  • ASIC Corporations (Investor Directed Portfolio Services) Instrument 2023/669 is cited for the IDPS definition (s 912AH(1)(b)(iv)(B));
  • ASIC Corporations (Financial Requirements for Custodial or Depository Service Providers) Instrument 2023/648 is cited in relation to the notional insertion of subsection 912AC(5) and its interaction with custodial/depository service providers (s 912AH(1)(b)(iv)(C) and s 912AH(5));
  • ASIC Corporations (Financial Requirements for Issuers of Retail OTC Derivatives) Instrument 2022/705 is cited as notionally inserting section 912AB (s 912AH(1)(b)(v)).

• The presence of these references indicates that the current section is designed to operate alongside ASIC’s 2022-2023 instruments that amended or inserted related financial‑requirements rules. The exact legislative dates for the section itself and the instruments are not in the supplied text, so the section’s effective date and amendment chronology cannot be fully reconstructed from this source alone.

• Notional insertion language suggests the section was drafted to interact with instrument‑based modifications of the Corporations Act framework (for example, by label‑referencing sections that ASIC instruments add). That drafting style implies the section was updated contemporaneously with or after those ASIC instruments.

The supplied text does not include any express history of prior versions of s 912AH or earlier statutes; nor does it show repeal dates, commencement provisions or legislative debate. Practitioners relying on the section should therefore consult the cited ASIC instruments and the consolidations of the Corporations Act to build a complete amendment timeline , the source provides the instrument identifiers but not their dates beyond the years embedded in their identifiers.

The supplied section contains no citation to any judicial decisions, tribunal determinations, or litigation outcomes. There are no reported cases, no administrative determinations, and no references to precedent inside the text. Therefore, based solely on the provided material:

• There is no litigation history recorded in the text for s 912AH or for its specific requirements.

• The provision creates several potential areas where disputes might arise operationally (for example, interpretation of "reasonably believes" in the market/clearing participant exclusions; the scope of what the auditor must examine and the meaning of "no reason to believe"; whether certain current assets qualify under the five‑business‑day conversion test; and the availability of trust funds where the licensee is trustee). However, such prospective dispute areas are not litigated matters recorded in the supplied text.

Absent external case law references in the section, a legal researcher seeking litigation history will need to search decisions and regulatory determinations outside this source. Within the text, the key words and standards that could generate future litigation include "reasonably believes" (in the market/clearing participant definitions), "no reason to believe" (auditor standard in s 912AH(3)(b)), the definition of cash and its timing thresholds (s 912AH(6)), and the quarterly written approval requirement (s 912AH(2)(b)), any of which could be the subject of dispute about compliance or the sufficiency of evidence supplied to ASIC. None of those disputes or outcomes appear in the section itself.

The section contains several drafting features and technical thresholds that practitioners should treat as potential compliance traps or sources of interpretive risk.

1. Transitional 3‑month references. The repeated parenthetical "or, on or before 30 June 2020, 3 months" creates ambiguity about which projection horizon applies at any given time. If a practitioner interprets the text mechanically, the operative horizon is 12 months except for the earlier transitional period, but the phrase remains embedded across multiple paragraphs. Check the wider statutory instrument or commencement provisions to confirm whether the 3‑month period remains relevant.

2. The 5% buffer is small but non‑negotiable. The licensee must hold cash equal to at least 5% of the greater of (i) the pro‑rated projected 12‑month cash outflow, or (ii) the actual cash outflow in the most recent financial year of at least 360 days (s 912AH(2)(f)). The comparison point is the greater of the two, which can yield the higher requirement driven by historical outflow even if projections are lower, or by projected outflow if it is higher. The pro‑rata math must be explicit; an example is given in the section.

3. What counts as "cash" has tight timing tests. Subsection 6 allows current assets expected to be exchanged within five business days and committed funding facilities drawdownable within five business days (and non‑repayable for at least a month after being drawn) to count as "cash" for this purpose (s 912AH(6)(a)-(b)). The five‑business‑day conversion requirement creates operational steps: evidence of liquidity and exchangeability within a five‑day window must be kept. For committed funding, the condition "when paid is not repayable for at least a month" requires clearly drafted facility terms or lender confirmations.

4. Trustee availability caveat. Where the licensee holds funds as trustee of a trust, the permitted inclusion of those amounts as cash is subject to the licensee having "no reason to believe" they will not be available to meet projected cash outflows (s 912AH(6) final limb). That imposes an evidentiary duty on trustee licensees to document availability and restrictions on trust funds, which may create friction in group structures with ring‑fenced trust assets.

5. The definition of "cash flow" excludes other trusts. If a licensee carries on substantially all of its financial services business as trustee of a trust, the licence‑related cash flow includes the trust’s cash flow (s 912AH(7)(b)), but the definition explicitly excludes cash flows of any other trust. That limits the ability to aggregate liquidity across multiple trusts or related entities for the 5% calculation.

6. Auditor standard is operationally exacting. The auditor must opine not only that the licensee had the projection and cash amounts but also that, after examination, they have "no reason to believe" that the licensee lacked adequate systems, failed to document calculations and assumptions, would not have access to required resources, would not hold the required cash, or adopted unreasonable assumptions (s 912AH(3)(b)(i)-(v)). The "no reason to believe" wording is similar to a negative assurance standard and will shape the scope and depth of the auditor’s workpapers and procedures.

7. Quarterly written approvals require corporate governance evidence. The projection must be approved in writing "at least quarterly" by the relevant persons (s 912AH(2)(b)). That procedural obligation can catch entities that treat cash‑flow forecasting as solely management work without formal board/partner/trustee sign‑offs. The approval must be written and kept as evidence for the auditor and ASIC.

8. Lodgement link to s 989B. The audit opinion must be lodged with the balance sheet required under s 989B (s 912AH(4)(a)). Practitioners must ensure synchronisation of financial‑statement lodgements and audit opinion lodgements; ASIC also retains discretion to require additional lodgements or set different dates (s 912AH(4)(b)).

9. Exclusions hinge on subjective "reasonable belief". The market/clearing participant exclusions apply where the participant "reasonably believes it complies" with market or clearing operating rules that impose financial requirements, taking into account waivers (s 912AH(7) definitions). That introduces a subjective but legally significant element: whether the participant’s belief is reasonable will depend on factual circumstances and may be contentious.

10. Interactions with other financial‑requirements instruments. The section explicitly references other ASIC instruments and sections (for example, 912AC and 912AB as notionally inserted by named instruments). A licensee may need to confirm whether it is captured by those other regimes and whether compliance with this section will be treated as compliance with the related provisions (s 912AH(5)). Failure to map those interactions correctly could misstate compliance obligations.

11. Practical measurement of "cash outflow". The measure of cash outflow for the projected period and the "actual cash outflow for the most recent financial year of at least 360 days" will require consistent accounting and presentational choices. The section expects a profit and loss statement for the most recent financial year of at least 360 days as the basis for the historical comparator (s 912AH(2)(f)(ii)). Entities with irregular accounting periods or non‑standard reporting may need to normalise figures.

These items are not legal determinations of invalidity; they are operational friction points where licence holders must pay attention to drafting precision, documentary controls and auditor engagement scope.

The following is a practical, source‑grounded compliance checklist that maps directly to the section’s provisions and identifies documentary steps and controls.

1. Determine whether the section applies to you. Confirm the licensee is a CSF intermediary and check exclusions in s 912AH(1)(b). If you are an APRA‑regulated body not required to comply with paragraph 912A(1)(d), a market participant, a clearing participant, a responsible entity for a registered scheme, an operator of an IDPS as defined in ASIC Corporations Instrument 2023/669, a provider of custodial/depository services subject to 912AC(5), or a licensee subject to 912AB as notionally inserted by Instrument 2022/705, then the section may not apply to you. For market and clearing participants, document the basis for any reasonable belief that you comply with the relevant market/clearing rules and waivers (s 912AH(7) definitions).

2. Prepare the projection. Build a cash‑flow projection covering at least the next 12 months (s 912AH(2)(a)). If you are within a transitional period referenced by the text, confirm whether the 3‑month horizon applies (the section includes the parenthetical "or, on or before 30 June 2020, 3 months"). Use reasonable estimates of what is likely to happen and be prepared to explain the basis for those estimates.

3. Document calculations and assumptions. Record the calculations, line items and assumptions used to produce the projection, and write a short rationale for why each assumption is appropriate (s 912AH(2)(c)). Keep supporting workpapers and source documents (contracts, pipeline revenue, expense schedules, expected timing of receipts and payments).

4. Obtain written approvals at least quarterly. Ensure the projection is approved in writing by the appropriate persons at least quarterly: directors for a body corporate; partners for a partnership; trustees for a trust; or the natural person licensee (s 912AH(2)(b)). Maintain a formal minute, signed document or written resolution as proof.

5. Implement update triggers. Put a process in place to update the projection if: (i) it ceases to cover at least the next 12 months (or the transitional 3 months where applicable), or (ii) there is reason to suspect that an updated projection would differ materially or would show non‑compliance with the access and cash‑holding requirements (s 912AH(2)(d)). Define "reason to suspect" in internal procedures to ensure consistent judgment.

6. Test access to resources and cash‑holding. Produce the documentation required under s 912AH(2)(e): a written record that, based on the projection, you will have access when needed to enough financial resources to meet liabilities over the projection period, and that you will hold at all times during the period the cash amount required under s 912AH(2)(f).

7. Compute the 5% buffer and hold qualifying "cash". Calculate the two comparators in s 912AH(2)(f):

   • (i) the cash outflow for the projected period adjusted pro rata to a 12‑month equivalent where the projected period is not 12 months, and
   • (ii) the licensee’s actual cash outflow for the most recent financial year of at least 360 days for which you have prepared a profit and loss statement. Hold in cash at least 5% of the greater of these two amounts, and keep the computation and reconciliation documentation.

8. Validate what you can count as "cash". For items you plan to rely on as "cash" under s 912AH(6), prepare and retain evidence that:

   • current assets are expected to be exchangeable for money within five business days (s 912AH(6)(a)), and
   • any commitment to provide money from an Australian ADI or ASIC‑approved entity can be drawn down within five business days and, when paid, is not repayable for at least a month (s 912AH(6)(b)). For trustee‑held amounts, document why you have "no reason to believe" that the amount will not be available to meet projected outflows (s 912AH(6) final limb). Keep lender commitment letters, facility agreements, statement of balances, and management attestations.

9. Maintain systems for managing risk of insufficient resources. Given the auditor must opine on the adequacy of such systems (s 912AH(3)(b)(i)) and the note linking to 912A(1)(h), implement and document risk‑management procedures, escalation protocols, liquidity stress testing and contingency funding plans. Ensure audit trails for decisions.

10. Engage a registered company auditor with the appropriate scope. Arrange for a registered company auditor to prepare the audit opinion required by s 912AH(3). Provide the auditor with the projections, calculations and assumptions under s 912AH(2)(c), the document prepared under s 912AH(2)(e), and the systems documentation. Confirm the auditor will address the specific matters listed in s 912AH(3)(a)-(b) and can deliver the opinion within the lodgement timetable required by s 912AH(4).

11. Lodge audit opinion with ASIC in step with financial statements. File the audit opinion with ASIC together with the balance sheet required under s 989B for each financial year (s 912AH(4)(a)). Stay alert to any ASIC directions for lodgement of audit opinions for other periods and comply with any lodgement date ASIC directs in writing (s 912AH(4)(b)).

12. Keep contemporaneous records and governance evidence. Maintain copies of quarterly written approvals, projection updates, calculations, assumptions, cash reconciliations, ADI commitment letters, trustee availability assessments and the auditor’s working papers and opinion. These documents will be the primary proof of compliance in any regulatory review.

13. Map cross‑regime interactions. If you are a custodial or depository provider, an IDPS operator, a responsible entity, or fall into categories referenced by ASIC instruments (2022/705, 2023/648, 2023/669), document how compliance with this section interacts with any alternate or supplementary regimes, and rely on s 912AH(5) where it applies to be taken to comply with 912AC while complying with this section.

14. Review group and trust structures. If you operate through multiple trusts or related entities, ensure the "cash flow" definition’s exclusion of other trusts (s 912AH(7)) is properly accounted for in your calculations. Do not aggregate cash flows from unrelated trusts unless the business carried on substantially all pertains to one trust and the other trusts’ cash flows are demonstrably excluded.

15. Plan for ASIC questions. Because ASIC can direct lodgement for additional periods (s 912AH(4)(b)) and must be satisfied on the auditor’s opinion, be ready to respond quickly to ASIC requests for further information and to produce supporting evidence of the five‑day liquidity tests and non‑repayability conditions.

Following these concrete steps , mapping each requirement to the specific subsection cited above , will produce a defensible documentary trail and help ensure that the auditor can deliver the opinion ASIC expects.