For you to be eligible, your financial firm must have been licensed to provide the following products or services, and your financial loss must be related to one or more of these licensed products and services:

• Personal financial advice – for example, a financial planner gives you inappropriate advice causing financial loss.
• Dealing in securities for retail clients – for example, a stockbroker buys shares for you, resulting in financial loss.
• Providing credit – for example, a credit provider gives you regulated credit you can’t afford.
• Arranging credit – for example, a mortgage broker inappropriately arranges funds for you.

Please note: these examples are illustrative only.

We don’t cover certain financial services and products, including:

• managed investment schemes
• foreign exchange or derivatives trading
• consumer credit insurance
• general insurance
• scams

Legislation defines eligible products and services and is set out in law.

The CSLR must apply the law when assessing claims.

To be eligible for a CSLR compensation payment, the following criteria must be met:

• AFCA determination: The claimant must have an unpaid AFCA determination relating to an eligible product. If the financial firm still exists, AFCA must have taken reasonable steps to enforce the determination, such as seeking explanations, proposing payment plans, or engaging with insolvency practitioners where applicable.
• No other statutory compensation: The claimant must not be entitled to compensation under any other statutory scheme. CSLR will confirm that no alternative arrangements (e.g. National Guarantee Fund, SFE Fidelity Fund, ASX Supplementary Compensation Fund) can cover the determination.
• Reasonable Belief of Non-Payment: CSLR must reasonably believe the claimant is unlikely to be fully paid. This assessment considers factors such as:
  • How long the determination has remained unpaid
  • The claimant’s circumstances
  • The financial firm’s position and payment history
  • Any ongoing efforts that may lead to payment

Subject to the above criteria being met, you may be eligible to receive a compensation payment. As the CSLR is a genuine last resort compensation scheme, these steps must occur.

AFCA conducts an independent assessment of each complaint on its merits and may issue a determination that includes a compensation award. These decisions are made entirely independently of CSLR.

There is no time limit on making a claim with CSLR.

In some instances, the CSLR will require evidence that appropriate steps were taken to recover amounts owed to you from the relevant financial firm. You should report non-payment of your determination to AFCA as soon as possible.
AFCA will then:

• report the firm to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
• contact the firm to ask why they haven’t paid and explain the consequences.

If the firm is insolvent or hasn’t paid, AFCA will send you a letter, called an ‘appropriate steps notice’. This letter will be necessary for your to lodge a claim with us. The letter confirms that:

• AFCA have taken all appropriate steps to require the amount awarded to be paid.
• The awarded determination hasn’t been paid by the financial firm.

The CSLR is a genuine last-resort compensation scheme.  All other avenues must be exhausted before you may be eligible to make a claim with us.  This may include other compensation schemes or funds, such as the below.

Sydney Futures Exchange Fidelity Fund (ASX 24 market)

Provides compensation in relation to losses suffered by clients of participants (brokers) on the ASX 24 market, which was previously called Sydney Futures Exchange Limited (SFE).

This fund provides compensation due to misappropriation or fraudulent misuse of money or other property in connection with transactions on the ASX 24 market.

Clients who have suffered loss because of misappropriation or fraudulent misuse by a participant of ASX 24, or by a director, partner, officer, or employee of such a participant, are eligible to claim. Compensation is capped at:

• $250,000 per claimant;

• $2,000,000 per participant;

• $4,000,000 in total for claims arising from a particular event or set of related events.

Further information about eligibility, compensation caps and the claim process can be found at the ASX homepage.