ASIC Rewrites the Rulebook on Financial Advertising: What's Changed in RG 234
When ASIC first published its Regulatory Guide 234 on advertising (RG 234) in 2012, advertising financial products mostly meant print, radio, television and a still-young internet.
Fourteen years later, the regulator has released a substantially rewritten guide. The new RG 234 re-frames advertising compliance around hard legal obligations, brings credit into scope, and confronts the realities of AI, social media and "finfluencers".
If you promote financial products, credit products, financial advice or credit services, or publish advertising for those who do, here's what you need to know.
Key takeaways
Credit is now fully in scope. The guide expressly covers credit products and credit services, with detailed new guidance on comparison rates, reverse mortgages, mortgage brokers and credit assistance under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act (NCCPA) and National Credit Code.
AI is addressed for the first time. The guidance now applies to AI-generated advertising and AI-enabled tools, and warns that hallucinated or biased AI content can heighten the risk of misleading advertising.
Social media and "finfluencers" get dedicated treatment. Instagram reels, TikTok, podcasts, search ads, in-app promotions and influencer content are all explicitly captured, with a new finfluencer example and a pointer to ASIC’s information sheet INFO 269 on discussing financial products and services online.
A new greenwashing section. Promoters are warned not to overstate how "green," sustainable or ethical a product is, backed by recent enforcement examples and ASIC’s information sheet INFO 271 on greenwashing.
Claims must be substantiated. A new requirement that promoters must be able to substantiate claims with a reasonable, evidence-based justification, and keep records to support them.
From "good practice" to legal obligations. The guide is reframed around compliance with the law and includes real enforcement outcomes: court penalties, infringement notices and undertakings.
Restructured for usability. Content is reorganised into general principles and media-specific guidance, with new quick-reference tables, a consolidated list of relevant offences, and a new Appendix 2 that points readers to related ASIC guidance.
Credit moves to centre stage
The single biggest structural change is the deep integration of credit. The 2012 guide was framed primarily around financial (i.e. non-credit) products and advice services. The 2026 version embeds credit throughout.
NCCPA and National Credit Code specifics which are brought into the guide include:
when an advertised interest rate triggers a mandatory comparison rate and warning;
how prominent that comparison rate must be;
the requirement to include a credit licence number in printed ads; and
restrictions on terms like "reverse mortgage" (which can't be used unless the product carries features such as a no-negative-equity guarantee).
New examples target mortgage brokers advertising a "100% success rate," "guaranteed" finance with "no application refused," and debt-management firms overstating what they can deliver.
Catching up with how people actually advertise today
The 2012 guide pre-dated the modern digital advertising landscape. The update tries to close that gap.
AI gets express treatment. The guidance now applies regardless of the technology used, including artificial intelligence (AI), and cautions that AI tools' potential to generate hallucinated or biased content can increase the risk of misleading or deceptive advertising. Advertising for AI-enabled or digital advice tools must not overstate their capabilities, and the risks and limitations of those tools must be given the same prominence as the benefits. That matters for any business promoting an AI chatbot, robo-adviser or AI-assisted decision tool to consumers. Claims about capability, personalisation or decision support need to be balanced by clear information about the tool's limits, risks and assumptions.
Social media and influencers are captured. The guide now references Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, Reddit and Discord, time-sensitive formats like reels and stories, podcasts and music streaming, search-engine and in-app advertising, and product placement. A dedicated section addresses "finfluencers," including an enforcement example where ASIC issued warning notices to influencers promoting high-risk products alongside images of "lavish lifestyles, sports cars and luxury goods."
A recurring theme is that you can't fix a misleading headline with a "click-through" link or QR code. Balanced information, with warnings, disclaimers, and qualifications, has to travel with the claim, especially on third-party platforms and in space-constrained formats.
New compliance frontiers
Several new topics appear in the revised RG 234:
Greenwashing. A new section warns against misrepresenting how environmentally friendly, sustainable or ethical a product or strategy is, illustrated by recent court actions against a super fund and an index-fund manager.
Past performance and forecasts. RG 234 now contains detailed guidance on past performance that previously sat in RG 53, including standardised periods for investment returns, treatment of foreign currency returns, and caution around hypothetical, simulated or modelled performance figures.
Substantiation. Claims about consumer outcomes must be capable of being substantiated or otherwise justified on a reasonable, evidence-based footing — and promoters should keep records to back them up.
Suitability claims. A new standalone subsection deals with claims that a product is suitable for a particular group of consumers. ASIC expects those claims to be supported by an actual assessment, and it links the analysis to target market determinations under the design and distribution obligations.
Fees, costs and comparison sites. The guide gives more prescriptive guidance on advertised returns, including the impact of fees and costs, and requires comparison sites to be transparent about commissions, referral fees, payments for inclusion and paid placement.
Endorsements and testimonials. Expanded guidance covers misuse of third-party logos, false claims of ASIC endorsement (don't reproduce the ASIC logo), authenticity of testimonials, and celebrity endorsements that must reflect genuine, informed opinions.
Target audience and vulnerability. Promoters must consider the actual, not just intended, audience, including financial literacy and vulnerability. The revised guide draws on recent case law to reinforce that assumptions made by real consumers, and disclaimers they are likely to miss, matter when assessing whether advertising is misleading.
A shift in tone
While the 2012 guide was positioned as "good practice guidance", the updated RG 234 reads as a guide to complying with legal obligations, reinforced throughout by real enforcement outcomes, including pecuniary penalties, criminal convictions, infringement notices and court-enforceable undertakings, and references to recent litigation.
A more usable structure
The revised RG 234 adds a quick-reference appendix with summary tables covering message content, media-specific issues and relevant legislative provisions and penalties. A second appendix consolidates related ASIC materials, including guidance on hawking, responsible lending, design and distribution obligations, finfluencers and greenwashing.
What promoters should do
Promoters should now review their advertising governance against the updated RG 234. In particular, they should check that headline claims are evidence-based and properly recorded, that disclaimers and qualifications appear with the relevant claims, and that any sustainability or ethical messaging can withstand scrutiny. For credit products, promoters should also confirm that comparison-rate, warning and licensing disclosures meet the requirements in the National Credit Code.
Compliance teams should also update policies, review processes and training materials to reflect the new structure of RG 234. A useful starting point is to test advertising from the consumer's perspective, especially where it involves suitability claims, AI-related claims, social media promotions, comparison-site disclosures or past performance information.
For clients who want a second line of review, Dwyer Harris regularly assists with advertising sign-offs for financial services and credit businesses. That includes reviewing proposed campaigns, digital content, comparison materials and customer-facing claims before they go live, with a focus on practical regulatory risk and clear, commercially workable drafting. Contact us for more information.