Do businesses with 1–5 employees need to comply with Financial Accountability Regime (FAR) accountability obligations?

Yes (1–5 employees, turnover $100K–$1M).

Who must comply with Financial Accountability Regime (FAR) accountability obligations?

The applicability test for Comply with Financial Accountability Regime (FAR) accountability obligations (APRA and ASIC), computed across 35 industries, 9 business structures and 6 size bands.

Short answer: Some businesses

Applies when the business has APRA regulation.

What the obligation is

Banking entities from 15 March 2024; insurers and super trustees from 15 March 2025.

The Financial Accountability Regime extends BEAR-style accountability across banking, insurance and superannuation. Requires registration of accountable persons, accountability statements and maps, deferred remuneration arrangements, and breach reporting to ASIC/APRA.

The applicability test

Applies when the business has APRA regulation.

How the regulator frames it: Banking entities, insurance entities and RSE licensees, plus significant related entities.

What triggers it: Being a FAR-regulated entity.

Jurisdiction: Commonwealth law, so the test is the same in every state and territory.

Which industries are in or out

Outcome across the 35 industries Rules Mate maps (3 of 35: yes; 32 of 35: no).

Industry	Answer
Banks & ADIs	Yes
Superannuation trustees	Yes
Private health insurers	Yes
No	32 other industries

Business structure and size

Structure does not change the answer in the 3 industries it can reach: for every structure the answer is "yes".

Size does not change the answer in the 3 industries it can reach: at every size band the answer is "yes".

Worked examples

Each line is one run of the Rules Mate applicability engine for a single business profile, with the reason the engine gives:

Pty Ltd company in banks & adis with 6–19 employees, turnover $1M–$3M: applies. ADI — APRA-regulated.
Pty Ltd company in real estate agents with 6–19 employees, turnover $1M–$3M: does not apply. Requires APRA regulation.

Answers that bring it into scope

Starting from a small or large professional services company that does not otherwise meet the test, each of these single facts changes the engine's answer:

The business is regulated by APRA: it then applies (APRA-regulated).

What you must do, and when

When due: Continuous; specific events trigger ASIC/APRA notifications.
Frequency: Ongoing
Evidence to keep: Accountability statements, accountability map, deferred remuneration arrangements, accountable persons register.
In force from: 15 March 2024
Status: Current
Priority: Critical

Penalty for not complying

Maximum penalty: Civil penalties up to $1.82M (individuals); for entities, the greater of $18.2M, 3× benefit or 10% of annual turnover.

Audit or assurance level

Rules Mate has not yet classified the audit or assurance level for this obligation. Any audit, review or certification requirement is set by the regulator source listed below.

Dates in the compliance calendar

FAR insurance + super phase commencement: 15 March 2025 (one-off). FAR insurance + super phase commences — 6 months after banking phase.

Obligations with the same applicability test

If this obligation applies to you, so do these 4: the engine uses the same rule for each.

What usually applies alongside it

Across the 1,890 business profiles Rules Mate evaluates, these obligations apply to most of the businesses this one applies to, and are far more common among them than among businesses generally:

Where it sits in the corpus

Rules Mate tracks 2 published obligations tagged "far", 2 of them rated critical. For a professional services Pty Ltd company with 6–19 employees operating in every state, 0 of those apply outright. This obligation is rated critical priority, and is an ongoing duty.

Regulator, legislation and tools

Regulated by Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

APRA: Prudential regulator of banks (ADIs), insurers (general, life, private health), and superannuation funds. Sets and enforces CPS standards including CPS 234 (information security) and CPS 230 (operational risk).

ASIC: Corporate regulator administering the Corporations Act, financial services and credit licensing (AFSL/ACL), markets supervision, insolvency, and registries (ASIC and ABRS).

FAR Act: Extends BEAR-style accountability framework across banking (from 15 Mar 2024), insurance + super trustees (from 15 Mar 2025).

Financial Accountability Regime Act 2023

Free tools that help with this obligation:

Compliance calendar builder

Run the compliance journeyAnswer a short questionnaire about your business and get the obligations that apply to you, with the reason each one applies.

Questions

Who must comply with Financial Accountability Regime (FAR) accountability obligations?: Applies when the business has APRA regulation.
Do sole traders need to comply with Financial Accountability Regime (FAR) accountability obligations?: Yes. Looking in the 3 industries it can reach and every size band, the engine's answer for a sole trader is: yes.
Do businesses with 1–5 employees need to comply with Financial Accountability Regime (FAR) accountability obligations?: Yes (1–5 employees, turnover $100K–$1M).
When is "Comply with Financial Accountability Regime (FAR) accountability obligations" due?: Continuous; specific events trigger ASIC/APRA notifications.

Sources

Computed by the Rules Mate applicability engine from the published obligation corpus; facts last checked 3 October 2026. Rules Mate is not a law firm and this is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your position with the regulator source or a qualified adviser before acting.