Compliance training for payment providers

ASIC secured court orders for civil penalties of $830 million and helped secure more than $580 million in repayments and refunds for consumers and investors during 2025-26, its latest annual report has shown.

ASIC Chair Sarah Court said the results reflected the agency’s enforcement and regulatory work.

‘Our focus is on addressing misconduct and delivering outcomes for consumers, investors and the market,’ Ms Court said.

‘This year, our work resulted in significant penalties as well as repayments and refunds for consumers and investors.’

ASIC commenced 260 formal investigations; 32 civil proceedings involving 65 defendants and completed 1,012 surveillances.

ASIC has cancelled the Australian credit licence of MWL Financial Services Pty Ltd (In Liquidation) ACN 095 907 574 (MWL) following a payment by the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR).

On 28 November 2025, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) made a determination against MWL, which MWL failed to pay. On 16 September 2026, the CSLR made a payment of $90,031.34 for the AFCA determination including interest, and notified ASIC. As a result, on 12 October 2026, ASIC cancelled the Australian credit licence of MWL.

ASIC is required to cancel the Australian credit licence of a licensee where that licensee fails to pay an AFCA determination and the CSLR subsequently pays compensation.

The cancellation is not subject to discretion or merits review.

In making the cancellation order, ASIC has specified that MWL is to maintain its membership with AFCA for a further 12 months, to 12 October 2027 so that complaints about MWL can still be lodged with AFCA.

Further information can be found on the AFCA webpage at the below links:

• MWL Financial Services Pty Ltd (AFSL 235096)
• Shield and First Guardian collapse – how AFCA can help

ASIC has an ongoing investigation into MWL and numerous related entities (see Shield Master Fund).

The Reportable Situations (RS) dashboard provides information on the nature and impact of licensees’ self-reported breaches and has now been expanded to include two full years of data. It is an important tool for improving transparency and helping consumers, industry participants, researchers and other stakeholders better understand the Reportable Situations Regime.

The Reportable Situations Regime is designed to improve customer outcomes by strengthening licensees’ compliance and reporting practices. It requires Australian financial services and credit licensees to self-report breaches to ASIC, helping us identify emerging risks, systemic issues and entities that may need closer regulatory attention.

The updated dashboard provides information relating to volume of reports submitted, nature of breaches by product and issue, customer impact, rectification of breaches by firms and customer remediation methods.

ASIC received 11,838 initial reports of breaches in the period 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, a small decrease of 490 over the prior year. Of these, 7,673 reports were submitted by Australian financial services licensees and 4,520 by Australian credit licensees. Reports submitted by entities holding both licence types are included in both categories.

‘Large’ proprietary companies must make financial and directors’ reports.

A company is ‘large’ if it meets 2 of 3 thresholds in the Corporations Act. The thresholds cover consolidated revenue, assets and staff.

These thresholds also decide which entities must make sustainability reports.

The Australian Government announced in the 2026–27 Budget it will raise the revenue threshold to $100 million (from $50 million) and asset threshold to $50 million (from $25 million). This is part of a package of reforms intended to simplify and target rules where they are needed.

The government is seeking your views on a draft regulation to increase the thresholds.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) welcomes the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s (BCBS) finding that the regulations implementing the leverage ratio framework in Australia are compliant with BCBS standards.

This is the highest possible grade.

The finding follows an assessment by the BCBS’s Regulatory Consistency Assessment Programme (RCAP), which was published on Tuesday.

The leverage ratio complements APRA’s risk-based bank capital framework by limiting the amount of debt a bank can take on relative to its capital. It measures the proportion of a bank’s assets that is funded through equity (capital) rather than debt, providing an alternative perspective on the bank’s capital strength.

It was introduced as part of the Basel III reforms to restrict the build-up of leverage in the banking sector.

In Australia, the BCBS leverage ratio standard is implemented mainly through APRA’s Prudential Standard APS 110 Capital Adequacy. It only applies to the six banks that have been approved to use the internal ratings-based approach for credit risk.¹

Most of Australia’s leverage ratio regulations mirror the Basel standards. In a small number of areas, APRA has taken a pragmatic approach to align with the spirit of the BCBS standards while having regard to Australian conditions, industry feedback and regulatory burden. This approach aligns with APRA’s commitment to getting the balance right by maintaining high prudential standards while avoiding unnecessary cost and complexity in its regulations.

The RCAP assessment of Australia’s leverage ratio framework is available at: Regulatory Consistency Assessment Programme (RCAP): Assessment of Basel Committee’s leverage ratio framework – Australia.

Footnotes

¹The six banks are: ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, ING Australia, Macquarie Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac.

The government is consulting on draft legislation to improve tax transparency for crypto assets.

We have released draft legislation and an explanatory memorandum to deliver the measure announced in the 2025–26 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook.

The draft legislation:

• provides a framework to introduce the OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework into Australian law
• introduces a domestic crypto asset reporting regime for transactions involving Australian residents
• updates the existing Common Reporting Standard.

This consultation builds on the government’s previous consultation Crypto Asset Reporting Framework and related amendments – Consult hub.

ASIC has today commenced consultation on guidance and standards to implement new laws for digital asset platforms and tokenised custody platforms commencing on 8 April 2027.

ASIC’s Consultation Paper 392 Digital asset law reform implementation: Proposed standards and guidance (CP 392) outlines its proposed approach to standards and regulatory guidance about complying with the new digital asset framework introduced by the Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Act 2026 (DAF Act).

The consultation package includes draft guidance on how to comply with the new laws, proposed standards on asset-holding activities, trading and settlement activities, and proposed financial requirements for licensees.

ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland said that ASIC’s proposed guidance and standards recognised the rapid evolution of global markets.

Fortnum Private Wealth Ltd has been ordered by the Supreme Court of NSW to pay a $1.35 million penalty after admitting it failed to adequately manage cybersecurity risks across its financial advice network.

Fortnum also admitted it failed to have adequate cybersecurity expertise and risk management systems, exposing its authorised representatives and their clients to the risk of cyber-related attacks and cybercrime, that could result in serious harm and loss.

During the relevant period, Fortnum’s network comprised between 81 and 94 financial advice practices, more than 200 authorised advisers, and around 55,000 retail clients. These practices collected and held highly sensitive personal information, including identification documents, tax file numbers and financial account details.

ASIC Chair Sarah Court said the outcome reinforced that AFSL holders must properly manage and protect against cybersecurity risk.

ASIC’s second review into the financial reporting and audit of superannuation funds has found further improvement is needed in how some super funds and auditors assess and scrutinise the value of unlisted investments.

In Report 841 Accounting for your super: Super fund financial reporting and audit 2025–26 (REP 841), ASIC’s review of 42 registrable superannuation entity (RSE) financial reports and six audits found persistent concerns around valuations.

Superannuation is central to the long-term financial security of Australians and is a major part of the national economy. Total superannuation assets have more than doubled in the past decade to nearly $4.8 trillion in funds under management.

Keynote address by ASIC Chair Sarah Court at the G100 – CPA Australia Annual Reporting Luncheon in Melbourne on 13 October 2026.

Key points

• Few areas of ASIC’s broad remit are as fundamental to market integrity and the efficient allocation of capital than trusted, high-quality financial reporting.
• ASIC is focused on maintaining high standards of accountability and transparency while contributing to efforts to ensure Australia’s reporting framework remains effective, proportionate and supportive of productivity.
• Regardless of the evolving regulatory environment, one requirement does not change: financial information must be accurate, accessible and reliable.

ASIC has released the program for its Annual Forum 2026, which will bring together leaders from business, financial services, markets, government, and the community in Sydney on 17 and 18 November.

The Forum’s theme ‘Staying ahead of the next wave’, examines how Australia can safeguard the integrity of its financial system and maintain confidence for consumers and markets in an environment of accelerating and varied global change.

ASIC Chair Sarah Court said the forum would bring together a range of perspectives to explore how Australia’s financial system can anticipate and respond to the next wave of change.