CHESS complaints

If you have a complaint regarding the CHESS service or the nominee services of CHESS Depositary Nominees Pty Limited, please advise us, so that we have the opportunity to resolve the problem.

An ASX officer will investigate the complaint and answer your concerns.

To assist us in helping you, it would be appreciated if the following steps could be followed when making the complaint:

  • Gather all documents that support the complaint.
  • Make the complaint in writing, setting out adequate details of the complaint and include copies of the supporting documentation.
  • Lodge the complaint via either of the following means: 

in the case of the CHESS Service to:

The Manager
ASTC Settlement and Transfer Corporation Pty Limited
Level 4, 20 Bridge Street
SYDNEY NSW 2000

in the case of the Nominee Service to:

The Manager
CHESS Depositary Nominees Pty Limited
Level 4, 20 Bridge Street
SYDNEY NSW 2000

    • or by completing and forwarding the attached CHESS Complaint Detail Form by email or facsimile (02) 9227 0265.

The fact that you have made a complaint will not be disclosed to any external parties without your authorisation, unless ASX is required by law to do so.

In the case of complaints in respect of the nominee service provided by CHESS Depositary Nominees Pty Limited, if your complaint is not satisfactorily dealt with, you may refer the enquiry or complaint to an alternative dispute resolution scheme.

In this regard, CHESS Depositary Nominees Pty Limited is a member of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), which deals with the resolution of complaints relating to members of the financial services industry, including life insurance, superannuation, funds management, financial advice, investment advice and sales of financial or investment products.

The contact details for FOS are:

Financial Ombudsman Service
GPO Box 3
Melbourne  Vic  3001

Phone:  1300 78 08 08
Fax: (03) 9613 6399
Email: info@fos.org.au
Internet: www.fos.org.au

How we deal with your complaint

If during our investigation of your complaint, a breach of our Rules is apparent, we may commence disciplinary action against the Participant. We may also refer the matter to ASIC.  However, if no breach of our Rules is apparent (for example, if the matter is a service-related issue), we may not be able to take any action in relation to the matter.

In any event, ASX does not have the power to order payment of damages or compensation by Participants.
If our enquiries indicate a potential breach of our Rules, we are obliged to embark upon detailed investigations and then we may have to prove, before a Disciplinary Tribunal (and having regard to processes of natural justice), that those breaches have occurred.  Those investigations could take several months to conclude.

There are restrictions contained in our Rules in relation to the extent to which we can make information we obtain available to you. There are also restrictions on the extent to which we can inform you of the findings of our enquiries unless those findings are made public.

Publications outlining disciplinary determinations against Participants are accessible free of charge through the supervisory section of our website.

In certain circumstances, if ASX considers that an entity may be in breach of the ASX Rules, ASX is required under a memorandum of understanding (“MOU”) with ASIC to refer the matter to ASIC.  ASIC will then determine whether to use the legal powers available to it to investigate the matter further.

Under the terms of the MOU with ASIC, the fact of a particular referral having been made to ASIC is kept confidential in order to ensure that the success of any ongoing investigation is not jeopardised.  However ASX publishes the number of referrals made to ASIC on an annual basis.

So for this reason also, we may not be able to inform you specifically about the action we will take in relation to your complaint or whether there has been a breach of our Rules or a breach of the law.

Nevertheless, ASX can assure you that your concerns will be investigated.