Introduction

You can request IBKR Australia perform your Australian short position reporting obligations on your behalf.

What is a short position?

A short position arises where the quantity of an eligible product that you hold is less than the quantity of the eligible product that you have an obligation to deliver, such as when you engaged in short selling an ASX-listed security and borrowed securities from IBKR to cover your delivery obligation.

When do I have a reporting obligation?

Short sellers have an obligation to report certain short positions to the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC). Reporting on short positions that are below the thresholds set by ASIC is optional. A short position does not need to be reported to ASIC when:

• The value of the position is AUD 100,000 or less; and
• The position is 0.01% or less of the total quantity of securities or products on issue for that security or product.

Otherwise, the short position must be reported.

The following table provides a convenient summary of when a short position must be reported (“Reportable Short Position”):

What you need to know about short position reporting:

It is important that any clients trading or wishing to trade eligible products understand that they may have an obligation to report their Reportable Short Positions to ASIC daily.

This obligation applies to any short sellers with a Reportable Short Position under the rules whether inside or outside of Australia. By default, IBKR Australia does not report Reportable Short Positions on your behalf, so you must arrange for the reporting of your short positions (if required).

IBKR Australia, along with many third-party firms, can provide this service to you subject to applicable terms and conditions.

If you would like IBKR Australia to perform your short position reporting for eligible products held in your IBKR account, please enrol in the service via Client Portal. Currently, this service is offered at no additional cost to IBKR Australia clients.

Please note:

• If your account does not allow shorting of securities, there is no need to sign up for this service.
• IBKR Australia will only offer the option to report all short positions and not only your Reportable Short Positions.

If you enroll in the IBKR short position reporting service:

• You must not hold any other eligible products with any other bank, broker or custodian because our systems use the positions in your IBKR account to determine whether you have a reportable short position. We cannot accurately calculate your short position if you hold eligible positions elsewhere.
• You must ensure that the information you provide us is complete and accurate in all respects, as we are required to provide ASIC with certain personal information about you.
• The obligation to report your short positions is always yours and is not transferred to IBKR under any circumstance (i.e. IBKR does not become responsible for your short position reporting obligations);
• If, for any reason, we are unable to report your short positions to ASIC before the deadline or at all, we will endeavour to inform you as early as possible so that you can make alternative arrangements. However, we make no warranties that you will receive the notification prior to the reporting deadline.

How do I apply?

To apply, all you need to do is log in to your account via the Client Portal, navigate to the Settings > Account Settings menu, click on the “ASIC Short Position Reporting” icon and follow the prompts.

As part of this process, you will need a unique identifier. For Australian applicants, this can be your ACN or ARBN. For overseas clients this can be your SWIFT BIC. Alternatively, you may register with ASIC to obtain a unique identity code.

Upon electing IBKR Australia to perform this short position reporting obligation on your behalf, you must warrant that the reportable short positions held with IBKR Australia represent your entire portfolio in applicable Reportable Short Positions and acknowledge that IBKR Australia will rely on this representation and warranty in good faith on each occasion that it makes a short position report to ASIC on your behalf.

Where can I get more information?

Clients seeking more information on their short position reporting obligations should refer to the following resources:

• ASIC Regulatory Guide 196, which contains an overview of the applicable short selling rules and disclosure requirements.
• ASIC Info Sheet 98, which provides an overview of how to submit short position reports to ASIC via FIX and a list of vendors who may be able to assist you with your short position reporting obligations if you don’t elect to enrol in the IBKR short position reporting service.