Directory · ASIC
ASIC regulated forex brokers in Australia
12 brokers in our data have a company licensed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission that takes retail clients, 13 companies in all. 14 of all 15 ASIC companies in our data, retail and non-retail, were matched on ASIC’s records on 20 Oct 2026.
- 19 Oct 2026latest broker data check
Low Spread Brokers does not give personal investment advice.
Quick answer
What does ASIC regulated mean for a forex trader?
The company that issues your CFDs holds an Australian financial services licence (AFSL), or acts as an authorised representative of a licensee, and follows ASIC’s CFD product intervention order. Since 29 March 2021 that order caps retail leverage at 30:1 on major currency pairs and 2:1 on crypto-assets, standardises margin close-out and limits your losses to the funds in your CFD account. ASIC extended it to 23 May 2027.
- 13 ASIC companies of 12 brands in our data take retail clients; first alphabetically: AvaTrade, CMC Markets and eToro.
- No compensation scheme covers a CFD account: the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort excludes foreign exchange and derivatives trading.
- Complaints go to the firm first, then to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA); ASIC does not resolve individual disputes.
Brands with an ASIC company for retail clients, A–Z
12 brands, alphabetically. The chips show every regulator the brand works under; the ASIC company and its AFSL are in the table further down.
Alphabetical order, not a ranking. We have no affiliate or advertising agreements with brokers, so no place in this table is paid.
| Broker | All regulators of the brand | Min. deposit | Platforms | Score | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AvaTrade | Central Bank of IrelandASICJFSAADGM FSRACySECFSCACMA KenyaBVI FSC | $100 | MT4, MT5, TradingView, proprietary | 7.4 | Not published |
| CMC Markets | FCAFCABaFinASICFMAMASCIRODFSA | £0 | MT4, TradingView, proprietary | 7.9 | Not published |
| eToro | FCACySECASICFSA SeychellesFSRAMASSEC / FINRAFinCEN | Not published | proprietary | 6.0 | Read review |
| FP Markets | ASICCySECFSCAFSA Seychelles | $50 | MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView, proprietary, Iress | 8.0 | Not published |
| IC Markets | ASICCySECFSA SeychellesSCB | $0 | MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView, proprietary | 8.1 | Read review |
| IG | FCAFCAFCABaFinASICFMAFINMAMASDFSAJFSAFSCABMACFTC/NFA | £1 | MT4, MT5, TradingView, proprietary, API, ProRealTime, L2 Dealer | 8.0 | Read review |
| Interactive Brokers | SEC / CFTCFCADFSACentral Bank of IrelandASICCIROMASJFSASFC Hong Kong | $0 | proprietary | 6.2 | Read review |
| OANDA | CFTC / NFAFCAKNFASICCIROMASJFSABVI FSC | $0 | MT4, MT5, TradingView, proprietary | 8.1 | Read review |
| Pepperstone | FCACySECBaFinASICDFSACMA (UAE)CMA KenyaSCB | £10 | MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView, proprietary | 8.6 | Read review |
| Plus500 | FCACySECFinantsinspektsioonASICFMAFSCAMASDFSASCAJFSACIROFSA SeychellesSCBIsrael (regulator not named) | A$100 | proprietary | 6.3 | Not published |
| ThinkMarkets | FCACySECASICASICDFSAFSCAFSA SeychellesCIMAFMAUnregulated | $10 | MT4, MT5, TradingView, proprietary | 7.6 | Not published |
| Vantage | FCAASICFSCACIMAVFSCFSC Mauritius | $50 | MT4, MT5, TradingView, proprietary | 8.0 | Read review |
What the score is
A preliminary desk score from published terms: costs, platforms, regulation and accounts. No live account has been tested yet.
Where the licences come from
Each company and number as the broker publishes it, matched on the regulator’s register where a date is shown. Broker data up to 19 Oct 2026.
No bonuses listed
FCA, CySEC and ASIC rules bar incentives to trade CFDs for retail clients, and we list no bonus for any company.
Who needs an ASIC licence to offer forex CFDs
ASIC’s rule of thumb: if you run a financial services business, you generally need to be authorised under an AFS licence. Derivatives are financial products on ASIC’s list, and CFDs are derivatives. A business can also provide financial services as an authorised representative of a licensee, so check whose licence a firm is using.
That last point matters for forex brands: a number on the website can belong to a different company, as the Admirals case below shows.
ASIC regulated forex brokers list: 13 companies, 12 brands
Generated from our broker data (up to 19 Oct 2026). The AFSL is the number to search on ASIC’s registers; where the last column shows a date, we matched the company and number on ASIC’s records that day.
- ThinkMarkets: TF Global Markets Equities (Aust) Pty Limited is a Corporate Authorised Representative No. 1280662 of TF Global Securities (Aust) Pty Ltd, AFSL 412816; exchange-traded products (shares/ETFs) service provider, not CFDs.
| Brand | Company | AFSL number | Max. retail leverage, major FX, as published | Compensation, as the broker describes it | Register check |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AvaTrade | Ava Capital Markets Australia Pty Ltd | 406684 | Not found on the broker’s pages | Not found on the broker’s pages | Found in ASIC’s licensee records, 20 Oct 2026 |
| CMC Markets | CMC Markets Asia Pacific Pty Ltd | AFSL 238054 | Not found on the broker’s pages | Not found on the broker’s pages | Found in ASIC’s licensee records, 20 Oct 2026 |
| eToro | eToro AUS Capital Limited | AFSL 491139 | Not found on the broker’s pages | Not found on the broker’s pages | Found in ASIC’s licensee records, 20 Oct 2026 |
| FP Markets | First Prudential Markets Pty Ltd | AFSL 286354 | Not found on the broker’s pages | Not found on the broker’s pages | Found in ASIC’s licensee records, 20 Oct 2026 |
| IC Markets | International Capital Markets Pty Ltd | AFSL 335692 | 1:30 | Not found on the broker’s pages | Found in ASIC’s licensee records, 20 Oct 2026 |
| IG | IG Australia Pty Ltd | AFSL 515106 | Not found on the broker’s pages | Not found on the broker’s pages | Found in ASIC’s licensee records, 20 Oct 2026 |
| Interactive Brokers | Interactive Brokers Australia Pty. Ltd. | AFSL 453554 | Not found on the broker’s pages | Not found on the broker’s pages | Found in ASIC’s licensee records, 20 Oct 2026 |
| OANDA | OANDA Australia Pty Ltd | AFSL 412981; ABN 26 152 088 349 | Not found on the broker’s pages | Not found on the broker’s pages | Found in ASIC’s licensee records, 20 Oct 2026 |
| Pepperstone | Pepperstone Group Limited | AFSL 414530 | Not found on the broker’s pages | Not found on the broker’s pages | Found in ASIC’s licensee records, 20 Oct 2026 |
| Plus500 | Plus500AU Pty Ltd | AFSL 417727 | Not found on the broker’s pages | Not found on the broker’s pages | Found in ASIC’s licensee records, 20 Oct 2026 |
| ThinkMarkets | TF Global Markets (Aust) Pty Ltd | AFSL 424700 | 30:1 (Standard, ThinkTrader, ThinkZero accounts, retail) | Not found on the broker’s pages | Found in ASIC’s licensee records, 20 Oct 2026 |
| ThinkMarkets | TF Global Markets Equities (Aust) Pty Limited | CAR 1280662 (AFSL 412816) | Not found on the broker’s pages | Not found on the broker’s pages | Found in ASIC’s licensee records, 20 Oct 2026 |
| Vantage | Vantage Global Prime Pty Ltd | 428901 | up to 30:1 (retail clients) | Not found on the broker’s pages | Found in ASIC’s licensee records, 20 Oct 2026 |
Leverage and compensation columns repeat the broker’s own wording. Most brokers publish no Australian leverage figure on the pages we used; the cap set by ASIC’s order is below.
ASIC licences that are not open to retail clients
These companies are in our data but left off the list above:
- Admirals (Admiral Markets): Admirals AU Pty Ltd (AFSL 410681). ASIC register (AFS licensee dataset, Oct 2026): AFSL 410681 is held by PU Prime Trading Pty Ltd, and no current licensee carries the Admirals name — no Australian licence under the Admirals brand.
- FXCM: Stratos Trading Pty. Limited (trading as FXCM) (AFSL 309763). ASIC interim DDO stop order of 5 Dec 2025 (25-295MR) preventing new retail accounts; current status not verified — treated as closed until checked.
- Saxo no longer serves Australia under its own brand: Saxo Capital Markets (Australia) is now Totality Wealth Limited (AFSL 280372) and home.saxo/en-au redirects to totality.com.au.
- The XM brand runs on an offshore entity (FSC Belize, leverage up to 1:1000) and a CySEC entity for the EEA; the group’s FCA, ASIC and US licences belong to the sister brand Trading.com, not to XM.
What ASIC’s CFD order gives a retail client
The product intervention order applies to CFDs issued to retail clients from 29 March 2021. It sets leverage limits by asset, standardised margin close-out arrangements that close positions before all or most of the investment is lost, negative balance protection, and a ban on certain inducements. ASIC extended it for five years, to 23 May 2027.
| Underlying | Maximum leverage | Same as FCA and CySEC? |
|---|---|---|
| Major currency pairs | 30:1 | Yes |
| Minor currency pairs, gold, major stock indices | 20:1 | Yes |
| Commodities other than gold, minor stock indices | 10:1 | Yes |
| Shares and other assets | 5:1 | Yes |
| Crypto-assets | 2:1 | CySEC: 2:1; FCA: banned for retail |
ASIC’s release does not state the close-out level as a percentage, so we do not quote one. Professional (wholesale) clients are outside the order.
No compensation scheme for CFD accounts
Australia has no equivalent of the UK’s FSCS or Cyprus’s Investor Compensation Fund for forex and CFD clients. The Compensation Scheme of Last Resort covers personal financial advice, dealing in securities for retail clients, and providing or arranging credit; its list of exclusions names foreign exchange and derivatives trading.
How to complain: the firm, then AFCA
ASIC’s guidance: first make your complaint directly to the financial firm, through its internal dispute resolution process. If the firm has not resolved it, take it to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. ASIC has no role in resolving individual complaints or in AFCA’s decisions; report misconduct to ASIC separately.
How to check an AFSL on ASIC’s registers
ASIC’s Professional Registers search covers people and organisations licensed or registered with ASIC; its banned and disqualified registers list organisations and people barred from financial services.
- Copy the AFSL number and company name from the broker’s Australian website.
- Search the number in ASIC’s Professional Registers and check that the licensee name matches the company on your application.
- If the firm acts as an authorised representative, find the licensee it represents and check that licence too.
- Search the company in ASIC’s banned and disqualified registers before you deposit.
Methodology v1 · preliminary scores
What the score column means
This directory does not rank brokers: the order is alphabetical. The score next to each brand is the same preliminary desk score used on every ranking on this site, built from published terms; no live account has been opened.
- 1List the companiesEvery licensed company of a brand, with the licence number the broker publishes, matched on the regulator’s register where the table shows a date.
- 2Copy published termsSpreads, commission, deposits, platforms and account types from each broker’s own pages, each with its date (latest 19 Oct 2026).
- 3Score four criteriaCosts, platforms, regulation and accounts, 0–10 each, by a fixed formula. Research and support stay unscored until we test them.
- 4Sort A–ZBrands are listed by name. A higher score does not move a brand up this page.
Weights in the preliminary score
- Costs · 31%
- Regulation & safety · 31%
- Platforms · 19%
- Accounts & funding · 19%
- 12brokers scored
- 19 Oct 2026latest data check
What does not affect the order
The score, partner status and advertising. We have no affiliate or advertising agreements with brokers.
Published spreads behind the scores
| Checked | Quote | Spread |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Oct 2026 | EUR/USD, Retail (fixed/variable not stated) account, AvaTrade | 0.9 pips |
| 19 Oct 2026 | EUR/USD, FX Active account, CMC Markets | 0.0 pips |
| 19 Oct 2026 | EUR/USD, Standard (MT4, EU) account, FP Markets | 1.3 pips |
Check an ASIC licence in four steps
On ASIC’s own registers, not through a link from the broker. Links opened 21 Oct 2026.
- 1Copy the AFSL number and the licensee’s company name
- 2Search it in ASIC’s Professional Registers
- 3Check that the licensee name matches the company on your application
- 4Search the banned and disqualified registers
ASIC registers
A real number, the wrong company
A website can quote a genuine AFSL that belongs to someone else. Admirals is an example in our data: the number it publishes for Australia is held by a different licensee on ASIC’s register.
Risk warning:
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Most retail investor accounts lose money. Consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford the high risk of losing your money.
Low Spread Brokers does not give personal investment advice.
FAQ
ASIC regulated forex brokers: questions
Short answers from the regulators’ own pages (opened 21 Oct 2026) and from broker data collected up to 19 Oct 2026. Rules and licences change: check the register before you open an account.
Ask a questionWe cannot give personal investment advice.
1Which forex brokers are ASIC regulated?
In our data, 12 brands have an ASIC-licensed company that takes retail clients: AvaTrade, CMC Markets, eToro, FP Markets, IC Markets, IG, Interactive Brokers, OANDA, Pepperstone, Plus500, ThinkMarkets and Vantage.
Rules checked 21 Oct 2026 · broker data up to 19 Oct 2026
2What leverage can an ASIC regulated broker offer?
For retail clients: 30:1 on major currency pairs, 20:1 on minor pairs, gold and major indices, 10:1 on other commodities and minor indices, 5:1 on shares and 2:1 on crypto-assets, under ASIC’s CFD product intervention order.
Rules checked 21 Oct 2026 · broker data up to 19 Oct 2026
3Is there a compensation scheme for forex trading in Australia?
Not for CFD accounts. The Compensation Scheme of Last Resort lists foreign exchange and derivatives trading among the services it does not cover.
Rules checked 21 Oct 2026 · broker data up to 19 Oct 2026
4How do I check a broker’s AFSL?
Search the number in ASIC’s Professional Registers and make sure the licensee name matches the company you are signing with. A firm may also be an authorised representative of another licensee.
Rules checked 21 Oct 2026 · broker data up to 19 Oct 2026
5Is Admirals ASIC regulated?
Admirals lists Admirals AU Pty Ltd with AFSL 410681, but on the ASIC register (October 2026) that licence belongs to PU Prime Trading Pty Ltd and no current licensee carries the Admirals name. We do not present Admirals as licensed in Australia.
Rules checked 21 Oct 2026 · broker data up to 19 Oct 2026
6Can I open an FXCM account in Australia?
ASIC issued an interim stop order on 5 Dec 2025 that stopped FXCM Australia (Stratos Trading Pty Ltd) from opening new retail CFD accounts; we have not confirmed whether it was lifted.
Rules checked 21 Oct 2026 · broker data up to 19 Oct 2026
7Where do I complain about an ASIC regulated broker?
To the broker first, through its internal dispute resolution process. If it does not resolve the complaint, go to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).
Rules checked 21 Oct 2026 · broker data up to 19 Oct 2026
Sources
Primary sources for the rules on this page, with the date we opened each link. Licence data per company links to the register entry in the table above.
- ASIC: do you need an AFS licence?Checked on 21 Oct 2026
- ASIC 20-254MR: product intervention order strengthens CFD protectionsChecked on 21 Oct 2026
- ASIC 22-082MR: CFD product intervention order extended for five yearsChecked on 21 Oct 2026
- Compensation Scheme of Last Resort: who can make a claimChecked on 21 Oct 2026
- ASIC: disputes with financial firmsChecked on 21 Oct 2026
- ASIC: search ASIC’s registersChecked on 21 Oct 2026