Australian Financial Markets Association

What Australian Financial Markets Association does

Australian Financial Markets Association (AFMA) is an Australian industry association founded in 1986 and headquartered in Sydney that operates as the peak body for wholesale OTC financial markets, representing over 140 financial market participants including the major and regional Australian banks, international banks and global brokers, super funds and asset managers, large energy firms and carbon marketers, government treasury corporations, and market infrastructure providers such as ASX. The organization is structured as a company limited by guarantee, governed by a Board elected by its Financial Markets Members, and is the official secretariat for the IBOR Transformation Australian Working Group, coordinating standards and policy with the RBA, ASIC, APRA, and AEMO.

AFMA's core offerings center on three pillars: market standards and documentation (the Guide to Australian OTC Transactions as a subscription-based online legal reference, Market Conventions across cash, credit, debt, inflation, rates, repo, and energy, plus Guidelines and Environmental Products Documentation including the IBOR Fallback Language Template for Floating Rate Notes); professional accreditation (the AFMA Accreditation qualification via two pathways — an Experienced Professional Assessment and the Financial Markets Certificate AQF 8 program delivered in partnership with Macquarie University Business School); and education (OTC Documentation Workshops and Energy & Environmental Financial Markets Workshops delivered in-person across Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne, alongside the Australian FX Global Code Register). Underlying technology is a web portal and subscription gateway with no disclosed proprietary AI or automation layers; the value resides in codified legal templates, committee-driven standards, and accumulated institutional knowledge.

Revenue is generated through a diversified mix of recurring membership fees (Financial Markets Members, Partner Members, Affiliate Members), annual subscriptions to the OTC Guide, workshop fees (priced $950–$1,650 per attendee with member discounts and package deals), and the Financial Markets Certificate program ($1,515 per module for members, complete program $6,060 for members). Go-to-market is community-led: AFMA engages members through committees, working groups, policy submissions, and direct enterprise sales, and distributes its international voice via core memberships in ICMA, ICSA, the Asia Securities Forum, and FICA, plus MOUs with securities associations in Japan, Korea, China, and Chinese Taiwan.

Name

Australian Financial Markets Association

Legal name

Australian Financial Markets Association Limited

Website

https://afma.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Australian Financial Markets Association (AFMA) is a Sydney-based industry association and company limited by guarantee that represents over 140 wholesale financial market participants, providing market conventions, the Guide to Australian OTC Transactions, accreditation, policy advocacy, and IBOR transition coordination for Australia's banking, superannuation, energy, and market infrastructure sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industry Association / Financial Markets Standards

NAICS

Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities (523), Securities and Commodity Exchanges (523210)

SIC

Finance Services (6199), Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

Capital Markets Advisory (IPO Readiness, SPAC, ECM/DCM Advisory) (BPAHAOAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Financial Services & Insurance (FINRA, CFP, IAR, Insurance CE) (EDAAALAJ), Finance, Accounting & Risk (CFA/CPA/FRM) Certifications (EDAAANAD)

Keywords

• Industry association
• OTC documentation
• Market conventions
• Financial accreditation
• Professional workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

Sydney

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership fees from Financial Markets Members, Partner Members, and Affiliate Members. The organization represents over 140 leading financial market participants.
2. Guide to Australian OTC Transactions Subscription: 12-month subscription enabling unlimited access for any number of users. Base subscription covers all sections except Electricity, Environmental Products, Carbon Trading and Gas Trading which require additional fees.
3. OTC Documentation Workshops: Introductory workshops ($950 members/$1150 non-members) and Advanced workshops ($1400 members/$1650 non-members). Package deals available.
4. Energy & Environmental Financial Markets Workshops: One-day in-person workshops priced at $1250 for members and $1500 for non-members, providing 6 CPD hours.
5. Financial Markets Certificate: AFQ 8 qualification through Macquarie University Business School with module fees ($1515 per module for members, $1695 for non-members) and complete program fees ($6060 members, $6780 non-members)

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

AFMA is a membership-based industry association that develops and maintains market conventions, standards, and template documentation for Australian OTC financial markets. It sells access to the Guide to Australian OTC Transactions (an online legal reference), delivers AFMA Accreditation and the Financial Markets Certificate (AQF 8) with Macquarie University Business School, runs educational workshops on OTC documentation and energy/environmental financial markets, maintains the FX Global Code Register, and provides policy advocacy and committee secretariat services to financial market participants.

Product overview

The Australian Financial Markets Association (AFMA) is a not-for-profit industry association representing over 140 leading financial market participants in Australia. AFMA does not offer a unified software product but provides a portfolio of professional services including the Guide to Australian OTC Transactions (an online legal reference for OTC market documentation), AFMA Accreditation (industry qualification for financial markets professionals), educational workshops (OTC Documentation and Energy & Environmental Financial Markets), Market Conventions and Standards, Guidelines, Environmental Products Documentation, and the FX Global Code Register. These offerings work together to facilitate the smooth operation of Australia's OTC financial markets, promote effective regulation, and enhance professionalism of market participants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Guide to Australian OTC Transactions An online legal reference tool providing a standardised approach to legal documentation used by participants in Australia's OTC markets. It offers a low-cost alternative to seeking legal advice on ISDA and other master agreements and addenda, covering master agreements, products, issues, cases on derivatives, and history sections. Sold as a 12-month subscription for unlimited users within an organisation.
• AFMA Accreditation An industry-recognised qualification signalling knowledge, skills, and experience as a financial markets professional. Offered through two pathways: Experienced Professional Assessment (EPA) for professionals with 5+ years of experience, or the Financial Markets Certificate delivered through Macquarie University Business School (an AQF 8 qualification) for those with less experience.
• OTC Documentation Workshops Educational workshops (Introductory and Advanced) on the use of the Guide to Australian OTC Transactions, covering ISDA Master Agreements, derivatives products, netting, legal and operational issues, tax representations, cross default clauses, and close-out amount calculations. Delivered in-person across Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne.
• Energy & Environmental Financial Markets Workshops One-day in-person workshops providing introduction to Australian energy and environmental financial markets, covering physical energy markets, electricity and gas financial markets, environmental and carbon markets, derivatives for risk management, and deal execution to settlement mechanics. Provides 6 CPD hours.
• FX Global Code Register A register for Statements of Commitment to the FX Global Code, supporting transparency and ethical standards in foreign exchange markets.
• Market Conventions Industry-accepted standards and conventions for OTC markets including Cash Conventions, Credit Product Conventions, Debt Primary Market Conventions, Inflation Product Conventions, Interest Rate Derivative Conventions, Repo Conventions, and Energy and Carbon Markets Conventions.
• AFMA Guidelines Comprehensive guidelines including Competition Law Policy, Swaps Reference Price Transaction Guidelines, Debt Trading Guidelines, Rate Contribution Guidelines, ECM Guidelines on Handling Confidential Information, Product Approval Guidelines, Repo Trade Matching Guidelines, and Consequence Management Standard.
• Environmental Products Documentation Template documentation including the AFMA Environmental Products Spot Contract and AFMA Environmental Products Addendum (extending the ISDA Master Agreement) for Australian environmental product transactions including spot, forward, and option transactions.
• IBOR Fallback Language Template for Floating Rate Notes Template language for robust fallbacks in FRN securities documentation referencing BBSW, developed in response to RBA requirements. Includes AONIA-based fallback waterfall provisions and RBA Recommended Rate fallback mechanisms.

Named customers18 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Financial Markets Foundation for ChildrencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAFMA provides pro-bono administrative support to the Financial Markets Foundation for Children to fund ground-breaking research to improve health outcomes for Australian children.
• Asia Securities Forum (ASF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAFMA is a member of ASF, which represents securities associations in the Asia Pacific region and meets annually to discuss relevant issues. AFMA has established MOUs with Chinese Taiwan Securities Association, Japan Securities Dealers Association, Korea Financial Investment Association, and Securities Association of China.
• International Capital Market Association (ICMA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAFMA is a member of ICMA, a self-regulating organisation of the international securities market with rules covering trading, settlement and good market practice.
• International Council of Securities Associations (ICSA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAFMA is one of 15 trade associations from around the world that make up ICSA, exchanging information on issues relevant to international securities markets.
• Korea-Australia Financial Investment ForumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe forum's objective is to enhance cooperation in financial services and promote the mutual development of the Australian and Korean capital markets and investment funds industries.
• Business Coalition for Tax Reform (BCTR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAFMA is one of the 21 industry and professional associations that have combined to encourage further reform of the tax system.
• Finance Industry Council of Australia (FICA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAFMA is a founding member of this peak policy body for the finance sector. Through FICA, cooperative working relationships are maintained with other finance sector associations.
• Macquarie University Business SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAFMA partners with Macquarie University Business School for the Financial Markets Certificate, an AQF 8 qualification providing pathways to AFMA Accreditation.
• Energy EdgecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAFMA and Energy Edge have partnered for over a decade to deliver Electricity Derivatives training workshops to AFMA members.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• International Capital Market Association (ICMA): ICMA is a self-regulating organisation of the international securities market with rules covering trading, settlement, and good market practice. AFMA is a member of ICMA and operates in a comparable standards-setting role focused on the Australian wholesale market, making ICMA the most direct functional peer for AFMA's primary capital markets standards work.
• International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA): ISDA is the global standards body for OTC derivatives documentation, producing the master agreements that AFMA's Guide to Australian OTC Transactions supplements. Both organizations develop and maintain OTC documentation standards, conduct market conventions work, and provide accreditation/training to derivatives professionals.
• Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA): SIFMA is the US securities industry's trade association representing broker-dealers, banks, and asset managers. It is directly comparable to AFMA in mission (capital markets advocacy, standards, conventions), with a much larger US scope but identical functional model of membership-funded industry body.
• Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA): FINSIA is the Australian peak professional body for the financial services industry, offering certifications (FINSIA's CMF, SA Fin) and policy advocacy. It directly parallels AFMA's accreditation and policy functions in the same Australian market, with overlapping member bases across banks and super funds.
• Australian Financial Services Council (FSC): FSC is the Australian peak body for the financial services industry covering superannuation, investment management, and life insurance. FSC shares AFMA's Australian member base (especially super funds like AustralianSuper) and policy advocacy function, making it a close peer in the local industry body ecosystem.
• Finance Industry Council of Australia (FICA): FICA is the peak policy body for the Australian finance sector, of which AFMA is a founding member. FICA operates as a coordinating council among industry associations and is comparable in policy advocacy and member-driven governance model.

Broad incumbents

• Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA): GFMA is the global umbrella body for prudential and capital markets associations including ASIFMA, SIFMA, and AFME. As an association of associations, GFMA is a broader incumbent that aggregates regional member work like AFMA's, particularly on cross-border regulatory advocacy.
• Investment Company Institute (ICI): ICI is the leading association representing regulated investment companies globally. While US-focused, ICI's structure as a membership-funded industry body delivering advocacy, compliance guidance, and market data is comparable to AFMA's model.

Regional players

• Asia Securities Forum (ASF): ASF is the regional forum of Asia-Pacific securities associations of which AFMA is a member. ASF is a peer in the regional coordination and MOU-driven standards collaboration space, though it is a forum rather than a product-delivering body.
• International Council of Securities Associations (ICSA): ICSA is a coalition of 15+ securities trade associations globally, including AFMA. ICSA operates as a coordination and information-exchange forum with comparable membership-model peer functions to AFMA at the global level.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/australian-financial-markets-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Australian Financial Markets Association