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Speech by ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland at the Insurance Council of Australia Annual Conference in Sydney on 6 November 2026.

The Federal Court has ordered small amount lender Sunshine Loans Pty Ltd to pay $5.5 million in civil penalties for charging an illegal fee to thousands of consumers that was prohibited under the National Credit Code.

The penalty follows the Court’s finding that, between July 2016 and November 2020, Sunshine Loans entered into more than 670,000 small amount credit contracts containing an unlawful $35 amendment fee (24-074MR).

Consumers were charged a fee for agreeing with Sunshine Loans to reschedule the date of a loan repayment, even though the consumer was not in default.

The Court found Sunshine Loans, a significant participant in the small amount credit industry, charged consumers the illegal fee more than 12,000 times and received payment more than 8,000 times, collecting almost $300,000 from consumers.

ASIC is seeking feedback on proposals to support the transition to the new foreign financial services provider (FFSP) regime, which starts on 8 April 2027.

ASIC proposes to extend existing transitional relief for FFSPs by six months, provide conditional class relief under the new professional investor exemption, and publish regulatory guidance.

ASIC is also explaining how providers can notify ASIC of the exemptions they intend to rely on under the new regime.

The proposals aim to give industry regulatory certainty and support a smooth transition to the new regime.

The Government’s new FFSP regime aims to improve Australian professional and wholesale investors’ access to global markets by exempting certain providers from the requirement to hold an Australian Financial Services (AFS) licence.

The proposed guidance explains the new regime, its statutory exemptions, eligibility criteria and conditions.

ASIC also proposes conditional class relief for eligible FFSPs whose global operating models may fall outside the new professional investor exemption. Subject to conditions, the relief would allow individuals in Australia to support financial services principally provided offshore by an FFSP to Australian institutional investors.

ASIC has successfully defended the key liability, penalty and disqualification outcomes challenged by iSignthis Ltd (iSignthis), now known as Southern Cross Payments Ltd, and its former director and chief executive officer Nickolas John Karantzis.

The Full Federal Court yesterday largely dismissed the appellants’ appeals and upheld orders made by Justice McEvoy that iSignthis must pay a $10 million penalty for breaching disclosure laws and that Mr Karantzis be disqualified from managing corporations for six years and pay a $1 million penalty (24-132MR, 25-158MR).

The Full Court allowed the appeal on a limited aspect concerning the terms of one declaration made against Mr Karantzis during the liability judgment and ordered that the declaration be amended.

Today the Reserve Bank increased the cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.85 per cent.

Today’s decision was widely expected but that doesn’t make it any easier for Australian families and businesses to absorb.

It will be difficult news for many Australians who are paying a hefty price for circumstances outside of their control.

Australians are already struggling and this will stretch their budgets even further.

The full impacts of the previous rate rises earlier this year haven’t been fully felt yet and will slow our economy further when they are.

Today’s decision was widely anticipated but not unanimous. This is unsurprising given considerable uncertainty in the outlook and risks in both directions.

The war in the Middle East is pushing up inflation and interest rates around the world and markets expect rates to rise in every major advanced economy.

The war is now in its ninth month and its re‑escalation is putting sustained upward pressure on inflation, weighing on growth, and its end can’t come soon enough for the global economy.

Organised crime doesn’t stop when drugs, illicit tobacco or other illicit commodities are sold. Criminals then have another problem: what to do with the money.

An alleged transnational money laundering network suspected of laundering more than $123 million for multiple organised crime syndicates shows how criminals can provide financial infrastructure and services to other criminals.

AUSTRAC has supported a Taskforce Avarus investigation into the group(external link), which allegedly converted criminal cash into cryptocurrency and moved funds offshore through shell companies operating as corporate money mules.

Taskforce Avarus is an Australian Federal Police-led, multi-agency initiative targeting criminal networks that launder money in Australia.

It is an example of crime as a service, where specialist criminal networks can provide the infrastructure needed to move, convert and disguise the proceeds generated by other criminal activity.

ASIC is urging superannuation trustees to take accountability for blind spots in their oversight of issues arising from member complaints after a review identified concerning weaknesses that could expose Australians to avoidable harm.

ASIC Commissioner Simone Constant said findings detailed in Report 844 Lessons to be learned: How trustees use insights from superannuation complaints (REP 844) suggest too many trustees are failing to treat complaints as an early warning signal for service failures affecting members.

Attributable to ASIC Chair Sarah Court

ASIC is not currently convinced that prediction markets for retail clients are in the public interest.

Prediction market contracts have all the features of a bet. They are highly speculative, typically involving an all-or-nothing outcome based on the occurrence of a particular event, a characteristic they share with binary options, which are prohibited for retail clients in Australia. In many cases, these events have nothing to do with investment. They might include, for example, whether it will rain tomorrow or whether a particular sporting team will win or by how many goals. These features raise questions about whether prediction market contracts are appropriately described as investment products.

Prediction markets may also give rise to market integrity risks, including the misuse of confidential information, market manipulation and disputes over how outcomes are determined.

Australians who choose to access offshore prediction markets directly online should be aware that they do not have protections under Australian law.

Australian financial service licensees that facilitate access to offshore prediction markets should be aware that all their licence obligations under Australian law continue to apply to them in this activity.

Opening remarks by ASIC Chair Sarah Court at the second ASIC Financial Markets and Innovation Roundtable in Sydney on 27 October 2026.

Key points

• Capital is increasingly mobile, and technology is changing how markets operate. Australia’s markets must remain accessible, efficient and resilient if they are to continue serving investors and businesses effectively.
• ASIC, policymakers, and industry should focus on practical changes that strengthen resilience, lift productivity, reduce unnecessary friction, and widen access to Australia’s capital markets.
• Effective capital markets support investment, innovation and economic growth. Their continued success depends on trust, confident participation and resilient market infrastructure.

ASIC has called for improvements in financial reporting and audit quality after its latest surveillance found preparers of financial reports and auditors are still not getting the fundamentals right.

ASIC Commissioner Kate O’Rourke said preparers of financial reports and auditors need to lift their performance, particularly when financial reports depend heavily on judgement.

Opening Statement by ASIC Chair Sarah Court at the Senate Economics Legislation Committee, Supplementary Budget Estimates, 29 October 2026

ASIC is seeking feedback on a proposal to extend existing tax advice exemption for licensees for a further five years.

The exemption in ASIC Corporations (Recognised Accountants: Exempt Services) Instrument 2016/1151 (ASIC Instrument 2016/1151) is due to expire on 1 April 2027.

ASIC considers that the exemption remains useful and necessary. It therefore proposes to remake the instrument with minor updates, without changing its effect.

Providing feedback

ASIC invites feedback on this proposal. Submissions should be sent to rri.consultation@asic.gov.au by 5 pm AEST 25 November 2026.

Refer to CS 67 Proposed remake of instrument allowing limited exempt tax advice

Background

ASIC Instrument 2016/1151 modifies the exemption in Regulation 7.1.29(4) of the Corporations Regulations 2001 so that licensees and their representatives can provide limited advice on the tax implications of financial products that fall outside the scope of their Australian financial services licence or authorisations.

Licensees and representatives relying on the exemption must provide a disclaimer making clear the limits of their authorisation (i.e. that they are not licensed or authorised to provide the advice), that tax is only one factor to consider, and that clients should consider seeking appropriately authorised advice before making a decision.