The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has expanded its strategic priorities to include a new pillar that underscores a commitment to strengthening integrity across Australia’s markets.
Australia’s public and private markets and emerging financial products will form a new pillar of ASIC’s strategic priorities, the financial watchdog announced. ASIC Chair Joe Longo said the transformation work that had been underway at ASIC over the past three years had helped the agency to review and clarify its focus areas.
ASIC Chair Joe Longo on the new strategic pillar
“The integrity of our markets is fundamental to maintaining trust in Australia’s financial system which is core to ASIC’s remit. Trust in the financial system and markets means greater confidence which means more investment. That has direct benefits for the jobs and opportunities of Australians.
“While Australia’s private markets are dwarfed in size by our listed equity markets, their opacity presents an outsized risk to market integrity, particularly as more investors become exposed. The addition of a new strategic priority aimed at driving consistency and transparency across markets and products puts all market participants on notice.”
“While the overarching themes of our existing strategic priorities remain consistent, our updated Corporate Plan demonstrate how we are evolving and adapting to the changing needs of our operating environment. As the agency embeds the new structure we implemented last year, we are better able to anticipate and respond to threats and opportunities. The new structure and our strategic priorities are also helping better guide decisions about how to deploy ASIC’s limited resources,” Longo continued.
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“In the last year alone we commenced around 170 new investigations – an increase of about 25%, and we filed 33 new civil proceedings in the Federal Court – an increase of 27% in civil proceedings on the previous year. Our investigations have led to 18 criminal convictions and seen a further 23 individuals charged by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecution for criminal offenses. Our latest Corporate Plan and strategic priorities represent the next step of ASIC’s transformation journey to being a modern, confident and ambitious regulator.”
ASIC’s strategic priorities for 2024-25
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has outlined its strategic priorities in its 2024–25 corporate plan, focusing on five key areas:
- Improving Consumer Outcomes: ASIC aims to enhance consumer protection, focusing on financial product design, predatory lending, insurance claims, and dispute resolution. They will address misconduct, particularly against vulnerable consumers, ensure compliance with product design obligations, and monitor internal dispute resolution processes.
- Addressing Financial System Climate Change Risk: ASIC will support mandatory climate-related financial disclosures, monitor insurers’ responses to climate-related events, and deter greenwashing. They will also support the integrity of carbon markets and sustainable finance.
- Better Retirement Outcomes and Member Services: ASIC will focus on improving retirement outcomes, targeting misconduct that erodes superannuation and enhancing member services. They will enforce compliance and drive industry progress on retirement income standards.
- Advancing Digital and Data Resilience and Safety: ASIC will enhance cyber and operational resilience, monitor AI usage, and disrupt online investment scams. They will also supervise ASX’s technology changes, including the CHESS replacement, and review offshore outsourcing practices.
- Driving Consistency and Transparency Across Markets and Products: ASIC will examine the growth of private markets, supervise financial market infrastructure providers, monitor digital assets and decentralized finance, and implement new trade reporting and clearing service rules.
Overall, ASIC’s plan is focused on consumer protection, climate risk, retirement outcomes, digital resilience, and market transparency.
