Custody Policy Template (ASIC RG 133 | AFSL)

A custody policy records how an AFSL holder authorised to provide custodial and depository services holds client assets, appoints custodians and monitors them over time. This template is drafted to ASIC Regulatory Guide 133 and the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) as modified by ASIC Class Order [CO 13/1410], and is structured for adoption by your board.

Use this policy if you:

• Hold an AFSL authorising custodial or depository services
• Hold fund assets yourself under self-custody arrangements
• Appoint an external custodian, or a master custodian that engages sub-custodians
• Act as trustee or investment manager of one or more managed investment schemes
• Need a board-approved policy showing how you meet the RG 133 minimum standards

It is suited to:

• AFSL holders authorised to provide custodial and depository services
• Fund managers acting as trustee or investment manager of managed investment schemes
• Compliance officers preparing policies for board approval
• Licensees using master custodian and sub-custodian structures

What this policy covers:

• Document control and version history, a key obligations table with timing and responsible persons, and references to your breach reporting, conflicts, outsourcing and risk policies
• The obligations ASIC Class Order [CO 13/1410] imposes on licensees authorised to provide custodial and depository services
• The four RG 133 minimum standards: organisational structure, staffing capability, capacity and resources, and holding assets on trust
• Selecting and engaging custodians through your outsourcing policy, which must be reviewed at least every 13 months
• The fourteen matters a custody agreement must address: review and monitoring rights, written certification, manner of holding, instructions, liability, security interests, record-keeping and reporting, auditing, identity of agents, termination, breach reporting, arrangements with other parties, business continuity, and confidentiality
• Giving proper instructions signed by two authorised signatories, and maintaining the authorised signatory list
• A monitoring cycle of daily reconciliation, six-monthly compliance testing, annual custodian certification, an annual GS007 internal controls audit and an annual Compliance Officer review, with records kept for seven years
• Master custodian arrangements, including where sub-custodian terms are not reasonably practicable outside Australia

You receive an editable Word document with placeholders for [Company Name], the ACN and AFSL number, the board approval date and the location of each related policy, plus an Appendix A checklist to confirm everyone has been replaced. Purple drafting notes, green worked examples and four figures guide you through tailoring, and are deleted before adoption. Custody arrangements turn on your licence conditions and the structures you use, so have the completed policy reviewed by a qualified lawyer before your board approves it.