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Would your website survive an ASIC advertising review?
ASIC reissued its advertising guidance (RG 234) in June 2026, and it actively enforces the restricted-terms rules: "independent" is a word most advice practices are not allowed to use. Submit your site and get a report flagging content worth reviewing: independence claims, performance figures, guarantees, and the warnings and licensing details that should be there but often are not.
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Example finding
This automated review is general information only, not legal advice or an ASIC determination. Findings are potential issues for your review.
What the check looks for
RG 234, the restricted-terms provisions of the Corporations Act, and the general advice warning obligation all reach your website. The checker reads up to five pages of your site, starting where problems most often live (performance claims, offers, market commentary), and flags content against each rule.
Restricted independence terms
"Independent", "impartial", "unbiased", "independently owned" and similar are restricted by s923A of the Corporations Act. ASIC actively enforces this, and most practices using these words cannot.
Misleading performance claims
Return figures without basis or timeframe, past performance with no warning, forecasts without reasonable grounds, and comparisons that are not like-for-like.
Guarantees or understated risk
"Guaranteed returns", "risk-free", "capital protected" without the guarantor and conditions, and strategies framed as safe or certain.
General advice warning missing
Market commentary and product content is general advice under s949A, and it needs the warning. Insights pages and blogs are where this most often goes missing.
Licensing details not found
The checker looks for an AFSL or authorised representative number across your pages and flags a site where it cannot find one. FSG links get a positive note.
It also checks fee and offer clarity and qualification claims. It does not see social media, Google Business Profiles, paid ads, printed material, or PDF documents such as your Financial Services Guide; those carry the same obligations.
Questions advisers ask
Can I describe my practice as "independent"?
Only if you satisfy section 923A of the Corporations Act: broadly, no commissions, no volume-based payments, no conflicted remuneration, and no restrictions on the products you advise on. ASIC has confirmed that "independently owned", "non-aligned" and "non-institutionally owned" are also restricted, and it takes enforcement action on this provision. If you receive any life insurance commissions, you almost certainly cannot use these words.
Does my website need the general advice warning?
Wherever it gives general financial product advice, yes. Market commentary that recommends asset classes or products, "top fund" lists, and strategy articles urging action are general advice under section 949A, and each needs the warning. Purely educational content without a product recommendation does not.
What changed in ASIC's advertising guidance in 2026?
ASIC reissued Regulatory Guide 234 in June 2026, consolidating its past-performance guidance (formerly RG 53) into a single advertising guide and adding lessons from a decade of enforcement action. If your website copy predates the update, it was written for the old guidance.
What are the penalties for a breach?
Breaching the restricted-terms provisions or engaging in misleading conduct can attract civil penalties, and ASIC can also act against a licensee or adviser through licence conditions, banning orders, or infringement notices. Advertising is one of the first things ASIC reviews when it looks at an advice practice.
Is this check legal advice?
No. It is an automated review that flags potential issues for you to look at. It is general information only, not legal advice or an ASIC determination, and a clean result is not a compliance guarantee. For advice on your obligations, consult your licensee, compliance consultant, or lawyer.
Why do you need my work email?
The full report is delivered by email, and the tool costs us real money to run per scan, so we limit it to practice principals with a work email address. We email your report and may follow up once about it. No list, no spam.
PAC builds AI systems for professional practices, including the compliance tooling behind this checker. If your practice is thinking about AI beyond compliance, see how we work with professional services, or start with a conversation.