Don’t let a breach get out of reach

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The consultation package includes draft guidance on how to comply with the new laws, proposed standards on asset-holding activities, trading and settlement activities, and proposed financial requirements for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

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.

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.

ASIC has remade a legislative instrument that allows Australian Financial Services (AFS) licensees to place client money in cash common funds.

The new instrument, ASIC Corporations (Client money – Cash common funds) Instrument 2026/727, continues existing relief arrangements and will remain in force until 1 October 2031.

It replaces ASIC Corporations (Client money – Cash common funds) Instrument 2016/671, which is scheduled to expire on 1 October 2026.

ASIC has issued a new legislative instrument to continue regulatory relief for managed discretionary account (MDA) providers and external MDA custodians. ASIC has also updated its related regulatory guidance.

ASIC Corporations (Managed Discretionary Account Services) Instrument 2026/720 (ASIC Instrument 2026/720) replaces ASIC Corporations (Managed Discretionary Account Services) Instrument 2016/968 (ASIC Instrument 2016/968).

ASIC Instrument 2026/720 does not substantively change the terms of the relief for MDAs. Minor adjustments have been made to reflect related regulatory developments and evolving industry practice, including:

• moving some financial services guide (FSG) content requirements to into the investment program;
• amending the timeframe for notifying ASIC of non-compliance from 10 days to 30 days, along with changing the information required from full details of the non-compliance to its material details; and
• phasing out quarterly reporting with electronic access to account information to better reflect industry practice, giving investors timely access to their investment details.

ASIC undertook a streamlined consultation process on the proposed remake of the relief in CS 47 Proposed remake of relief for managed discretionary account services in April 2026. The submissions broadly supported the continuation of the MDA relief.

ASIC has also updated its guidance in Regulatory Guide 179 Managed discretionary accounts (RG 179) to reflect the new instrument and adjustments made.

The Reporting and audit update covers regulatory developments in reporting and audit, including sustainability and financial reporting matters.

ASIC has remade a legislative instrument which exempts low-volume financial markets from the requirement to hold an Australian market licence, raising the relevant transaction value threshold from $1.5 million to $2.5 million.

The increase in threshold reflects factors including inflation, with ASIC noting the threshold had not changed since 2016.

ASIC Corporations (Low Volume Financial Markets) Instrument 2026/756 (ASIC Instrument 2026/756) continues the relief provided under ASIC Corporations (Low Volume Financial Markets) Instrument 2016/888, with the new instrument scheduled to sunset on 1 October 2031.

ASIC consulted on remaking the instrument, CS 60 Proposed remake of low-volume financial markets instrument, in July and August 2026, and received three submissions.

All submissions supported in-principle the continuation of the relief, however, two submissions raised some concerns about the appropriate eligibility thresholds.

ASIC considers that the thresholds adopted in the instrument strike an appropriate balance between reducing compliance costs for operators of financial markets and managing regulatory risk.