ASIC has cancelled the Australian financial services licence of FXOpen AU Pty Ltd after an investigation raised serious concerns about something more basic than mispricing or misselling. The regulator found the firm did not have adequate human resources to provide the financial services it was licensed for, or to supervise them.
The cancellation was announced on 4 September 2024. FXOpen AU had held its licence since 12 December 2011, which permitted it to issue contracts for difference — the leveraged products that let clients speculate on movements in foreign exchange rates, share indices, single equities, commodities and crypto assets.
What ASIC Found
The regulator's grounds were unusually fundamental. ASIC did not allege a pricing failure, a misselling campaign or a prohibited transaction. It found that FXOpen AU had failed to maintain the competence to provide the financial services covered by its licence, had failed to have adequate human resources to provide and supervise those services, had breached the key person condition attached to the licence, and had failed to comply with the financial services laws.
The key person condition is the licence requirement that a specific identified individual — with the competence and qualifications the regulator verified when the licence was granted — remains associated with the business in a supervisory capacity. When that person departs and no adequate replacement is in place, the licence effectively rests on a foundation that no longer exists.
ASIC further noted that, based on its investigation, it had reasonable grounds to believe that further contraventions of the financial services laws were likely. That forward-looking finding is significant: the regulator concluded the problem was structural, not incidental, and that leaving the firm to operate would predictably produce more breaches.
The Firm Applied for Review
FXOpen AU applied to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC's decision. That review process is a standard avenue for challenging a regulatory determination, and the application does not suspend the cancellation. The licence remained cancelled while the review was pending.
Thirteen Years of Operation, Then a Staffing Problem
FXOpen AU had been licensed since December 2011. Thirteen years is a substantial operating history in the Australian retail derivatives market. The cancellation was not triggered by a sudden collapse or a fraud allegation. It was triggered by a gradual erosion of the governance infrastructure the licence depended on — specifically, the people whose qualifications and oversight responsibilities gave the regulator confidence that the business was being run properly.
That timeline matters for retail traders. A broker that has held a licence for over a decade can still arrive at a point where it no longer meets the basic conditions attached to that licence. The regulatory authorisation does not automatically update to reflect changes in staffing, leadership or internal governance. It is the broker's ongoing obligation to maintain them.
Retail traders cannot see staffing levels from a website, which is precisely why licence conditions exist to check them. The FCA, ASIC and other tier-one regulators require ongoing notification of key person changes and regular compliance attestations. When a firm stops maintaining those requirements, the licence becomes a certificate for a business that no longer exists in the form the regulator approved.
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What This Means for FXOpen Clients
There is no dramatic misconduct in the FXOpen decision, and that is exactly why it is worth reading. ASIC did not find a boiler room or a rigged price feed. It found a licensed forex and CFD issuer that did not have enough capable people to run and supervise its own business, that had fallen out of compliance with the key person condition its licence depended on, and that could not maintain the competence its permissions required.
The regulator concluded further breaches were likely and shut it down before they arrived. That is how licence cancellation is supposed to work — as a preventive measure, not only a response to harm already caused.
Retail traders cannot see staffing levels from a website, which is precisely why licence conditions exist to check them. When assessing any broker, confirm that the key persons named on the licence are still actively involved. A licence issued a decade ago and never updated is not the same as a well-governed business today.
About the Company
About FXOpen AU
Regulator
ASIC (Australia)
Action Type
AFS Licence Cancellation
Penalty
Licence cancelled
Licence Number
AFSL 412871
FXOpen AU Pty Ltd was an Australian issuer of contracts for difference and foreign exchange contracts, holding Australian financial services licence number 412871 from December 2011. Its permissions covered leveraged products referencing foreign exchange rates, share indices, single equities, commodities and crypto assets.
ASIC cancelled the licence in September 2024 after finding inadequate human resources for providing and supervising financial services, a failure to maintain competence, a breach of the key person condition, and a failure to comply with financial services laws. The company applied to the Tribunal for a review of the decision.
Editor's note & source: Factual points are drawn from the ASIC media release 24-194MR. This article is not legal advice. Last updated: 30 July 2026.