The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has set out to clear up uncertainties about the law relating to electronic delivery of disclosures in a new regulatory guide, RG 221. It aims to facilitate greater use of email and the internet by the financial services industry.The Corporations Act permits the online delivery of disclosures but ASIC says that some providers have been discouraged from doing so because of uncertainty about what specific practices the law allows.In the guide, ASIC says it takes a technology-neutral approach to financial services disclosures, but it does aim to facilitate online delivery. Its view is that financial disclosures are often lengthy paper-based documents that many clients find difficult to understand and engage with. It reckons one way to make disclosures more user-friendly is by encouraging and facilitating the use of online disclosure. An advantage of online disclosure for clients is that it can incorporate more engaging forms of media and can be interactive.Online disclosure provisions of the Corporations Act are in parts 7.6 to 7.9. They cover financial services guides, statements of advice, product disclosure statements, periodic statements, annual superannuation information and confirmation of transactions.ASIC's view is that all these disclosures can be sent as text in an email or as an attachment to an email. Most disclosures can also be sent as an email with a hyperlink to the disclosure or a notification that the disclosure is available from a website.One area of uncertainty has been whether companies can deliver product disclosure statements, financial services guides and statements of advice through hyperlinks or references to website addresses. There is uncertainty because the Corporations Act requires that these documents be delivered in a way that allows the provider to be satisfied that the client or the client's agent has received the disclosure.ASIC has granted relief to enable providers to deliver product disclosure statements and financial services guides via hyperlink. This relief does not extend to statements of advice because of the private disclosures in these documents and concerns about online security.The guide says that a provider must obtain a client's express agreement before delivering financial services disclosures online. A client must actively decide to receive financial services disclosures online.