The national regulation of licensed trustee companies commenced on 6 May 2010.

The scheme replaces eight separate State and Territory regimes.

The national regime is contained in Schedule 2 of the Corporations Legislation Amendment (Financial Services Modernisation) Act 2009, and in regulations amending the Corporations Regulations 2001 and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Regulations 2001, all of which commenced on 6 May 2010.

Under the new laws, traditional trustee company services provided by licensed trustee companies will now be regarded as financial services under Chapter 7 of the Corporations Act 2001 and Part 2, Division 2 of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001. This means these services will be regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

As a result, trustee companies will be subject to a range of new obligations covering financial product disclosure, licensing, fees, conduct and advice, as well as internal and external dispute resolution mechanisms.