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International ratings agency S&P Global has just re‑affirmed Australia’s AAA credit rating.

S&P says “Australia’s fiscal performance is sound” and “Australia has modest public debt by international standards.”

S&P specifically calls out the Government’s ambitious tax and savings reforms for helping improve Australia’s fiscal position over the next decade.

S&P says Australia’s rating benefits from “strong institutional settings and sound fiscal metrics.”

ASIC has today launched a new Small Business Director Essentials hub – a new digital resource to help small business directors understand and meet their obligations.

The hub brings together practical guidance, learning modules and tools in one place, making it easier for directors to access information at key stages of running a company – from planning and setting up, through to operating, restructuring or closing a business.

ASIC Commissioner Kate O’Rourke said the new resources deliver on a key initiative under ASIC’s Small Business Strategy and regulatory simplification program, helping small business directors better understand their obligations under the Corporations Act and access practical guidance and learning resources in one place.

ASIC has disqualified Antonio Torcasio of Melbourne, Victoria, from managing corporations for the maximum period of five years due to his involvement in the failure of eight companies.

Companies listing on Australia’s public market will have greater flexibility to publicise upcoming IPOs under proposals released today by ASIC.

ASIC is seeking orders from the Federal Court to restrain Royce Capital Investments Pty Ltd, Royce (Aust) Real Estate Pty Ltd (RARE), Louie Kortesis and Paul Chiodo from advertising, promoting or accepting money in Australia for Royce Global Investments LP (registered in the Cayman Islands), Royce Global Real Estate LP (registered in the Cayman Islands) and Royce Private Investments Fund LP (registered in Delaware, USA).

ASIC’s proposed orders would also restrain Royce Capital, RARE, Mr Kortesis and Mr Chiodo from advertising, promoting or accepting money for financial products generally in Australia.

ASIC alleges that in August 2025, Royce Capital raised $1.536 million from five Australian SMSF investors, purportedly for investment in one or more of the above offshore funds. ASIC alleges that:

• Royce Capital provided financial services without holding an Australian financial services licence;
• Mr Kortesis and Mr Chiodo were involved in Royce Capital’s alleged unlicensed conduct, and that
• Royce Capital and/or RARE made misleading or deceptive representations in brochures provided to some investors, including to the effect that they would receive a guaranteed or fixed return of 13% per annum.

ASIC is seeking feedback on its proposal to remake a legislative instrument that provides financial reporting relief for wholly-owned companies, which is scheduled to expire on 1 October 2026.

This will maintain existing relief while the Australian Government progresses law reform for simplified reporting relief for group entities, announced as part of the Whole-of-Government Regulatory Reform Agenda in the 2026/27 Budget.

Under ASIC’s proposal, the relief in ASIC Corporations (Wholly-owned Companies) Instrument 2016/785 (ASIC Instrument 2016/785) will be extended for five years. We will also make minor, technical changes to the instrument and related documents, such as Pro Forma 24 Deed of cross guarantee (PF 24).

Under our proposal:

ASIC acknowledges TMX Group Limited’s (TMX) announcement that it has completed its acquisition of Cboe Australia.

TMX’s purchase of Cboe Australia was subject to ASIC’s regulatory approval under 852DG of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).

Formal lodgement, regulatory assessment and approvals of TMX’s application took place in July 2026.

TMX and Cboe, which will be rebranded as TMX Australia Exchange, will now work together on finalising the transaction elements and ensuring a smooth transition of ownership. ASIC will continue to provide regulatory oversight over the transition process, including timely consideration of any market operating rule changes that are required to ensure clarity for issuers and participants of the market during the transition.

ASIC is committed to facilitating competition in Australia’s financial markets. Greater competition provides more choice for investors and encourages greater foreign investment and international alignment.

ASIC took administrative action against 36 approved self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) auditors between January and June 2026, bringing its total actions against SMSF auditors in FY26 to 64.

The outcome represents a year-on-year increase in the number of actions taken against SMSF auditors.

The actions address serious breaches of auditor obligations and reinforce ASIC’s focus on maintaining standards among gatekeepers responsible for auditing more than $1 trillion in SMSF assets in over 672,000 SMSFs.

ASIC took these actions for various breaches of the professional obligations of SMSF auditors, such as failing to maintain independence, non-compliance with auditing and assurance standards, non-compliance with continuing professional development requirements, failing to maintain practical experience, failing to lodge annual statements, and/or for not being a fit and proper person to remain registered as an approved SMSF auditor.

Former director Vickie Anne Vella who used over $1.2 million of company funds for her personal use, has been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment in the NSW District Court to be served by way of an Intensive Corrections Order.

Ms Vella was the former director of Coast Reo Pty Ltd and Midcoast Reinforcement Pty Ltd. The companies traded as Newcastle Plastamasta, Central Coast Plastamasta and Port Macquarie Plastamasta and supplied plasterboard and steel to the Central Coast and Port Macquarie areas of NSW.

On 23 July 2026, Ms Vella was convicted after earlier pleading guilty to one charge of using her position dishonestly with the intention of directly or indirectly gaining an advantage or causing detriment.

Ms Vella was sole signatory to the Coast Reo and Midcoast bank accounts and between about 4 August 2016 and 5 April 2018 withdrew a total of approximately $1,216,806 and expended the funds on gambling, sequential cash withdrawals, iTunes and Star City Hotel Pyrmont subscriptions.

Coast Reo and Midcoast Reinforcement went into liquidation in 2018.

ASIC is inviting industry feedback on its proposal to remake a legislative instrument which exempts low-volume financial markets from the requirement to hold an Australian market licence.

The current relief, under the ASIC Corporations (Low Volume Financial Markets) Instrument 2016/888 (ASIC Instrument 2016/888), is scheduled to sunset on 1 October 2026.

ASIC proposes to remake the instrument because it is operating effectively and remains a necessary and useful part of the legislative framework.

The only substantive change proposed is an increase to the transaction value threshold for low-volume financial markets from $1.5 million to $2.5 million. This reflects factors including inflation, noting the threshold has not changed since 2016.

A financial market is considered a low volume financial market if, during the 12-months before it is included on the register:

• no more than 100 completed transactions are entered into, and
• the value of those transactions does not exceed the relevant threshold.

All other proposed amendments are minor, technical or consequential, and do not materially change the operation of the instrument.

The proposed draft instrument is available at CS 60 Proposed remake of low-volume financial markets instrument.

Regulatory guidance for Australia’s sell-side research will be reduced from 42 pages to just eight, under a new principles-based proposal by ASIC to facilitate greater investment in the local market.

The proposed revamp of Regulatory Guide 264 Sell-Side Research (RG 264) responds to industry feedback received through ASIC’s discussion paper on public and private markets seeking clearer and less prescriptive guidance to encourage more research to support capital raising activity.

Sell-side research is prepared by AFS licensees such as investment banks and stockbrokers to help clients make investment decisions including about upcoming initial public offerings (IPOs).

ASIC is seeking feedback on the changes that are designed to simplify the existing guidance by removing prescription and replacing RG 264 with a shorter, principles-based guide.

The updates will enable greater research analyst input into the IPO process – to facilitate capital raising activity – whilst requiring licensees to have effective arrangements to manage conflicts of interest, inside information and to preserve the independence of research.

The work forms part of ASIC’s response to feedback on the discussion paper and also reinforces ASIC’s ongoing focus on regulatory simplification.

A copy of the draft updated regulatory guide and a summary of the proposed changes are available on the consultation webpage at CS 59 Proposed updates to RG 264.

Former finance director Brendan Gunn has been sentenced in the Local Court of NSW for dealing with over $180,000 when it was reasonable to suspect that those funds were proceeds of crime.

Mr Gunn was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment, to be released immediately upon entering into a recognizance of $3000 requiring he be of good behaviour for 12 months.

The funds were suspected of being proceeds of crime derived from an offshore cryptocurrency investment scam that targeted Australians.

The maximum sentence of imprisonment able to be imposed in a summary prosecution for this offence is 12 months.

From December 2018, Mr Gunn was a director of Mormarkets Pty Ltd, trading as Coinshype. Mormarkets received deposits from Australians for cryptocurrency and other purported investments.

Between January 2019 and May 2020, 22 separate bank accounts with six different financial institutions were opened in Mormarkets’ name. On a number of occasions, banks informed Mr Gunn that they had received complaints that funds credited to Mormarkets accounts had been affected by fraud or other suspicious activity.

All accounts associated with Mormarkets were eventually closed by the banks.

When two of the Mormarkets bank accounts were closed, Mr Gunn received two bank cheques which included proceeds of investment amounts totalling $181,000. He then dealt with the bank cheques by sending them to an associate. In January 2026, Mr Gunn pleaded guilty to dealing with this money that was reasonably suspected of being the proceeds of crime (26-009MR).