#17 Regulatory Returns

All licensed Financial Advice Providers must submit an annual regulatory return as part of licensing conditions. With seven more calendar days to go have your submitted your return?  The submission period closes on 30 September 2025.

Regulatory returns should be submitted through the FMA Online Services portal: https://www.fma.govt.nz/business/online-services

You can find frequently asked questions and an information sheet on regulatory returns on our Financial Advice Providers regulatory returns page.

Transcript

Chris:

Kia ora everyone. Welcome to another 5 Minutes with the FMA, a podcast from the Financial Markets Authority.

 Today we're talking about financial advice providers and the regulatory returns they’re required to file each year. The deadline is looming.

 We're joined by Dhasha Rathnayaka from the Financial Advice team at the FMA to tell us more.

 Hi Dhasha, what is the purpose of these regulatory returns? Can you tell us why they're so important for the FMA and the industry?

Dhasha:
The purpose of collecting regulatory returns is to enable the FMA to understand the profile of licensed businesses and ensure data-led decisions are made when supervising financial advice providers.
The returns require reporting of factual business information such as business volumes, product and service types, current numbers, outsourcing arrangements, and complaints data.

 This gives the FMA updated insights into the nature, size, and complexity of each advice provider’s service.

 The financial advice sector is large and diverse. We want to focus our attention on the most important risks aligned with the outcomes we seek for New Zealanders—and good data helps us do that.

Chris:
So who is required to submit one of these returns?

Dhasha:
Any entity that holds a valid licence as of 30 June is required to submit a regulatory return for that year.

Chris:
And how should we report on authorised bodies in the regulatory return?

Dhasha:
Authorised bodies are not required to submit their own return.
We expect the licensed FAP to include all authorised body information in their regulatory return.
If you are an authorised body under a FAP licence, you can work with the licence holder to ensure the data is readily available for them to complete the return on your behalf.

Chris:
Can you walk us through some of the reporting and submission dates? What’s the timeline?

Dhasha:
FAP regulatory returns are open for submission from 1 July to 30 September each year.
We send reminder emails to all licensed FAPs with a link to the MyFMA portal to ensure they submit the return before 30 September.

Chris:
What kind of information is the FMA seeking to gather through these returns? What questions are asked?

Dhasha:
The questions are broken down into five parts:

1. Business structure
2. Licensing
3. Complaints process
4. Outsourcing
5. Business continuity and technology
    More information and FAQs are published on our website to help FAPs navigate the annual regulatory returns.

Chris:
What are some key challenges faced by advice providers when completing their returns? How can they avoid them?

Dhasha:
One challenge is understanding the meaning behind the questions, which can lead to incorrect responses.
To help, we’ve published the FAP Regulatory Return Information Sheet on our website, explaining each question.
We strongly recommend entities read this document before submitting their return.

Chris:
How does the FMA use the data it collects?

Dhasha:
As a data and intelligence-led regulator, we use the data to understand sector trends, including emerging themes or risks.
Cleansed data from the returns is shared with the industry and published on our website annually.

Chris:
What are the implications for advice providers who fail to submit their returns on time or provide inaccurate information?

Dhasha:
Under Standard Condition 3 of the FAP licensing requirements, all licensed entities must submit a regulatory return by 30 September each year.
Failure to do so means you haven’t met your licensing conditions, and the FMA will follow up.
If you’ve provided inaccurate information, please contact us—we can work with you to resolve it.
If you have issues submitting your return, reach out to the FMA as soon as possible so we can assist.

Chris:
Any advice for a new advice provider submitting their return for the first time?

Dhasha:
Read the Regulatory Return Information Sheet and FAQs on our website.
You must have a RealMe login and be registered on the Financial Service Providers Register.
Submit one return per licence, and include authorised bodies in the return.
If you have questions, contact us—we’re here to help.

Chris:
Thanks very much for your time today, Dhasha.
That’s another 5 Minutes with the FMA.
You can find out more about regulatory returns on our website at https://www.fma.govt.nz.
See you next time.