Step 2 - Lodging an application

After you have completed Step 1, you can lodge a formal application for APRA to assess whether to license your business. APRA considers the application received once we have a received a substantial component of the required application documentation. The documentation needs to be Board approved where required, be at an acceptable standard for APRA to commence assessment and APRA must have received payment of the application fee.

APRA's requirements

To familiarise yourself with APRA's requirements:

read the relevant licensing guidelines and information papers (refer to Industry licensing guidelines pages below);
consider the relevant prudential framework and how it applies to your business;
where relevant, complete the appropriate forms; and
make sure you understand what your post-licensing responsibilities will be, such as reporting to APRA or specific disclosures you may be required to make.

Provide information

As part of your application you will need to provide the information specified in the relevant guidelines or instructions. Examples include details of your:

ownership, board and management;
credible three-year business plan;
financial resources including level of capital or Operational Risk Financial Requirement (ORFR); and
risk and information management frameworks.

Before you lodge

Review your application to check that you have provided all of the required information. You should also provide to APRA any other information that is relevant to your application. Your application will be delayed if the information provided is inaccurate or incomplete.

When you are ready to lodge your application, APRA will provide you access to a secure document portal. This portal generally has capacity for 1 GB of data and this can be extended if required. Access is granted to individuals, as such you will need to advise APRA of the identity of persons who will be able to upload documents for your licence application.

APRA does not require you to submit hard copy documents.

Application fees

Any applicable non-refundable licensing fee is payable when you lodge your application as follows:

ADIs	$110,000
Restricted ADI	$80,000
Restricted ADI progression to ADI	$30,000
General insurance	$110,000
Life insurance	$110,000
Superannuation	$20,000 for public offer or extended public offer or $5,500 for non-public offer entity
Private health insurance	$110,000
Non-operating holding companies (NOHC)	$110,000
Purchased Payment Facilities	$55,000

The application fee can be paid by electronic funds transfer (EFT). The EFT details are provided on the invoice. The invoice is issued once sufficient documentation for an application is submitted.

Financial Sector (Shareholders) Act

Ownership of financial sector institutions is governed by the Financial Sector (Shareholdings) Act 1998 (the FSSA) which limits shareholdings of an individual shareholder to 20 per cent of the voting shares. A higher percentage limit may be approved by APRA under delegation of the Treasurer. If you require an approval for a higher percentage shareholding under the FSSA, you should submit your request to APRA at the same time as your licence application.

Industry licensing guidelines

For more detailed information on the application requirements refer to the relevant industry licensing page: