For financial services and credit

Every rate and every return, read before it goes out.

For mortgage brokers, lenders, financial advisers and the agencies that market them. SwayBlu checks each post, email and PDF against ASIC's advertising rules and the National Credit Code, shows the section beside what it finds, fixes it, and keeps the record.

15 minutes. Bring a real page or post and we check it live on the call.

ASIC RG 234, June 2026 ASIC Act ss 12DA and 12DB National Credit Code Corporations Act s 949A Built in Sydney
The flow

From a draft to something you can stand behind.

Five steps, the same five for every piece. Not just captions: the post with its image, the carousel, the newsletter, the client email, the PDF.

1

Set the rulebook

Once, when the business is added: does it advise on financial products, or arrange or provide credit? The rules follow from that.

2

Bring the content

Paste a caption or an email, upload a post with its image, a carousel or a PDF. Whoever wrote it, including us.

3

Check it

Read against that business's rules. Each finding shows the exact phrase and the rule beside it, down to the section where it has one, such as Credit Code s 160.

Then: Fix it for me

A rewrite in the business's own voice. The comparison rate and its warning go in, the guarantee comes out, the risk sits beside the return.

4

Check it again

The fixed version goes through the same rules a second time. What still trips a rule stays flagged, with the reason.

5

On the record

Every check is written to a record that cannot be edited later: the date, the rules in force, what was found and what changed. Export it as a PDF.

The same five steps for every piece. ASIC's rules underneath, the record behind it.

The fork

An adviser and a broker are not under the same rules.

A post about returns and a post about rates run into different law. SwayBlu picks the rulebook from what the business actually does, then writes and checks inside it.

Business profile

What the business does

Set once when the business is added. Whether it advises on financial products under an Australian financial services licence, or arranges or provides credit.

Financial advisers and product issuers

The ASIC Act and the Corporations Act, RG 234 on advertising, and a general advice warning where content recommends a product (s 949A, RG 244).

Mortgage brokers, lenders and credit

The ASIC Act and the National Credit Code: a comparison rate and its warning beside an advertised loan rate (s 160, reg 99), plus RG 234.

Businesses around finance

Accounting, bookkeeping and finance software firms that do not promote financial products or credit are checked against the Australian Consumer Law.

Who the rules reach

Not only the licensee. Whoever promotes it.

ASIC's advertising guide applies to promoters of financial products, advice and credit, and it names third parties among them: advisers, distributors, intermediaries such as lead generators, and agents. It covers publishers too, social media included. And it applies whatever produced the ad, AI included. A caption drafted by a junior, a freelancer or a model is held to the same standard as one from the head of compliance.

2,000
Penalty units for a false or misleading representation about financial services. ASIC Act s 12DB, penalty set by s 12GB.
5,000
Penalty units, civil, for a false or misleading representation about credit. National Credit Code s 154.
$55m
Combined penalties ordered in July 2026 against a retailer and its finance partner over a misleading 60 month interest free campaign. ASIC 26-171MR.

ASIC Regulatory Guide 234, Advertising financial products and services (including credit), June 2026, RG 234.3 and RG 234.5. Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 s 12DB, penalty under s 12GB, Compilation No. 108. National Credit Code s 154, National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 Schedule 1, Compilation No. 52. ASIC media release 26-171MR, 28 July 2026. Penalties are shown in penalty units because the dollar value of a unit changes over time. SwayBlu makes no claim about how any regulator would treat a given advertiser.

Before it goes out

The rate, the return, the promise. Caught in place.

It does not matter who wrote it. The broker at eleven at night, the adviser's assistant, the agency, or us. Paste the caption, upload the post with its image, or drop in the client email, and you get each thing it runs into and a corrected version.

  • Rates are checked by rule, not by guess. An advertised rate with no comparison rate beside it is flagged against Credit Code s 160, and a comparison rate with no warning against reg 99.
  • Guarantees do not get through. Guaranteed returns, risk-free, can't lose: flagged as do not publish, with RG 234.17 beside them.
  • The rule, not a score. Each finding names what it runs into, in plain words.
  • A fix, not a rejection. The comparison rate and its warning go in, the guarantee comes out, and the whole piece is checked again.

Sample, fictional businesses

CAPTION REVIEW Mortgage broker
Comparison rate Guarantees Superlatives Fees

Bayline Home Loans

Time to refinance? Variable home loans from 5.89% p.a., and we will find you the lowest rate in Australia, guaranteed. Book a chat with our brokers.

3 issues flaggedCredit Code s 160 and ASIC RG 234
Suggested rewrite Time to refinance? Variable home loans from 5.89% p.a., comparison rate 6.12% p.a.* for a $150,000 secured loan over 25 years. We compare lenders to find a loan that suits you. *WARNING: This comparison rate is true only for the examples given and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate.
POST REVIEW Financial adviser
Guarantees Balance Superlatives Fees

Kestrel Wealth

The smartest investment you will make this year. Our clients never lose money. Book a strategy call.

Do not publish. 4 issues2 in the artwork, 2 in the caption. ASIC RG 234.17
COMMS REVIEW Client email
Comparison rate Fees Superlatives Guarantees
Rate update email, October

Hi Priya,
Rates are moving. Lock in a fixed home loan from 5.49% p.a. this month, with no fees at all. As Sydney's number one broker we can guarantee your approval.
Talk soon, Tidewater Mortgages

4 issues flaggedCredit Code s 160, ASIC RG 234.44 and RG 234.17
The record

What was checked, when, and against which rules.

Every check is written down and kept. When a licensee or a client asks why a line was changed, or why a rate went out with a warning under it, you have the entry rather than a memory of a conversation.

  • ASIC's guide asks promoters to keep a record of their advertising (RG 234.177). This is a record of what was checked and found, not a clearance.
  • Entries cannot be edited or removed. The table refuses updates and deletes at the database level.
  • Each entry names the rules it was checked against, with the version in force that day and the section beside each finding.
  • Export the record as a PDF you keep.
For agencies

Marketing for finance clients? One login for all of them.

Each client is added as its own brand with its own rulebook: the broker under the Credit Code, the adviser under the Corporations Act, the dental client under AHPRA. Switch the active client from the sidebar and everything re-scopes to them: their rules, their content, their record.

  • The right rules per client. A broker's post is never checked against an adviser's rules, or a dentist's.
  • Nothing bleeds across. Content, reviews and records are scoped to the active client only.
  • We set up each client brand with you. There is no self serve flow for adding brands yet.
What it does not check yet, so you hear it from us first. Whether an ad matches a product's target market determination under the design and distribution obligations, hawking, statements about AFCA membership, insurance-specific rules, crypto assets, greenwashing, and superannuation-specific rules. Those still need your own review.
Common questions

Quick answers.

Which rules does SwayBlu check finance content against?

For a financial adviser or product issuer: ASIC Act ss 12DA and 12DB, Corporations Act ss 911A, 949A and 1041H, ASIC Regulatory Guide 234 on advertising, RG 244 on general advice and Information Sheet 269 on discussing financial products online. For a mortgage broker, lender or other credit business: ASIC Act ss 12DA and 12DB, the National Credit Code's advertising and comparison rate rules with the National Credit Regulations, National Credit Act s 29 and RG 234. Each check records the version of the rules in force on the day it ran.

Does every advertised rate need a comparison rate?

For consumer credit such as home, car and personal loans, an advertisement that states an annual percentage rate must also state the comparison rate (National Credit Code s 160), with the prescribed warning (s 163 and National Credit Regulations reg 99), identified as a comparison rate and no less prominent than the rate (s 164). Continuing credit such as credit cards, and low cost credit contracts, sit outside those rules (s 158). SwayBlu flags a rate with no comparison rate beside it, and a comparison rate with no warning.

Does it check for a general advice warning?

Yes, for financial services businesses. Where content recommends or gives an opinion on a financial product, it needs a general advice warning in plain words (Corporations Act s 949A, RG 244.38 and RG 244.39). Factual information with no implied recommendation does not need one (RG 244.30).

Are testimonials allowed in finance advertising?

Yes, if they are genuine and not misleading. The health rule that bans testimonials does not apply to financial services or credit. A false or misleading testimonial is still a problem under ASIC Act s 12DB(1)(c) and (d), and SwayBlu flags one that looks fabricated, paid for without saying so, or edited to remove the criticism.

Can our agency use this for its finance clients?

Yes. Each client is added as its own brand with its own rulebook, and one login holds them all. We set up each client brand with you by hand. See SwayBlu for agencies.

Is this legal or financial advice?

No. SwayBlu's compliance aware checks flag likely issues against the rules named on this page. They are not legal or financial advice and are not a substitute for advice from a qualified Australian lawyer or for your licensee's own compliance process. The business and anyone promoting for it are the publishers of record. SwayBlu is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting for ASIC.

Bring a real page. We will check it live.

Fifteen minutes, screen shared. Bring a broker page, an adviser post or a client email, and we run it through the finance rules on the call.

No card needed to book.

SwayBlu is a content tool, not a legal or financial advice service. Its compliance aware checks flag likely issues against the advertising rules applicable to each business type. For financial services and credit businesses those are the ASIC Act, the Corporations Act, the National Credit Code and National Credit Regulations, and ASIC Regulatory Guides 234 and 244 and Information Sheet 269, as named on this page. These checks are not legal advice and are not a substitute for advice from a qualified Australian lawyer. The business and anyone promoting for it are the publishers of record: final compliance of anything published is their responsibility. SwayBlu is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting for ASIC or any licensee. Business names, rates, figures and results shown in illustrative mock ups on this page are fictional and do not refer to any real business or product.