What's an ACL?

Ever wondered what those tiny little numbers on advertisements for home loans are? We explain what an ACL is, what it’s for, and what ours means to us. (Hint, it's more than just another TLA.)

What is an Australian Credit Licence?

An Australian Credit Licence (ACL) is something a business needs to apply for and have, to be involved in ‘credit activities’ – this includes anyone lending money, or any intermediary between the person lending the money and the person getting the money, which includes brokers. You don’t need a credit licence if you’re an authorised representative of another person who holds a licence.

How do you get it?

The people dishing out the credit licenses is the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC). And by “dishing”, we mean assessing applications to ensure the business can demonstrate they comply with the licence conditions in the credit legislation. If you’re really keen, you can read the Regulatory Guide 204 which explains what you need to do, to apply for a credit licence.

Where to see the numbers?

All lenders who are licensed must display their six-digit number – on their website, on loan documents, and in their shop-front (for the old-school peeps). If you can’t see a credit licence number, you should ask for it to be pointed out to you. And if they can’t show you one? Run Forrest! ASIC have a very handy page with links to check out people, companies, and schemes, so you can make sure they meet the basic credit standards.

Tic:Toc's ACL.

We’re very proud of our bunch of numbers. Here are some more numbers, to help explain what we needed to do, to get our ACL.

• 3 responsible managers allocated
• 56 years’ experience in the industry, between them
• 12-week course to get a credit industry qualification
• 3 background and police checks
• 1 application drafted
• 1 membership to the Financial Ombudsman Service
• 1162 kilometres travelled to Sydney to meet with ASIC regulators
• 7 days to provide more information
• 9 attachments of more information, including screenshots and details of our application, forms and policies
• 30 days to confirmation of our Australian Credit Licence.
• 5 beers. Per responsible manager. Drank responsibly.

It’s not just a bunch of numbers to us. Australian Credit Licence (and proud of it): 496431.

Find out more about Tic:Toc's ACL in our FAQs.