Guidance for the Australian Clearing and Settlement Facility Resolution Regime June 2025

Clearing and settlement (CS) facilities provide post-trade clearing and settlement services for transactions that occur in financial markets. In Australia, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has primary responsibility for licensing CS facilities and for granting exemptions from the requirement to hold a CS facility licence. These facilities are co-regulated by ASIC and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).

In September 2024, the Australian Parliament passed the Treasury Laws Amendment (Financial Market Infrastructure and Other Measures) Act 2024 (the Amending Act). This amended the Corporations Act 2001 to provide the RBA with crisis resolution powers^[1] (resolution powers) with respect to domestically incorporated CS facilities.^[2] These powers enable the RBA to manage or respond to a threat posed to the continuity of critical CS facility services or the stability of the financial system in Australia arising in relation to a domestic CS facility licensee.

During the exposure period for the Amending Act, several stakeholders sought more information as to the circumstances in which resolution could occur, and how resolution powers and tools could be used.

In response to stakeholders’ requests, the RBA developed draft guidance for the Australian CS Facility Resolution Regime and invited stakeholders to provide submissions in response to the draft guidance. The closing date for submissions was 11 August 2025. The response paper summarises the feedback received on the draft guidance and sets out how the RBA has addressed this feedback in the final form of the Guidance as published in February 2026.