Sarah Court
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.
‘Economic pressures, geopolitical uncertainty, and rapid technological innovation are reshaping our financial system and our markets.’
‘The challenge for all of us – government, business and regulators is to address these factors in a way that is front footed and forward thinking.’
‘ASIC’s Annual Forum is an important opportunity to consider how we navigate these changes together. It is also where ASIC will outline its enforcement priorities for the year ahead, helping ensure Australia’s financial system remains resilient in the face of ongoing disruption.’
Highlights of the 2026 program include:
- A keynote address from The Hon Dr Jim Chalmers MP, Treasurer of Australia
- A discussion on the state of the economy bringing together ASIC Chair Sarah Court, RBA Governor Michele Bullock, Productivity Commission Chair Danielle Wood and Coles CEO Leah Weckert
- A session examining how digital assets, retail participation, AI and the growing interconnection of Australian and global markets are changing the way markets operate, with ASIC Commissioner Simone Constant, ASX CEO Anthony Attia, UBS’s Nick Hughes and Betashares CEO Alex Vynokur
- A virtual keynote and Q&A with Martin Wolf CBE, Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times in London
- A discussion on how innovation is reshaping how Australians access financial products and services with ASIC Commissioner Kate O’Rourke, CEO, Revolut Bank Matt Baxby, Financial Conduct Authority Head of Innovation Colin Payne, incoming CEO, Redbelly Network Christian Westerlind Wigstrom and Co-Director of the UTS Human Technology Institute Professor Nicholas Davis
- ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland leading a discussion on the human face of global disruption with Professor Brendan Murphy AC, Chair, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood, Chandni Gupta, Deputy CEO, Consumer Policy Research Centre and Dr John Coyne, Director, National Security Program, ASPI
- Fireside discussions with Anthropic General Manager of Australia and New Zealand Theo Hourmouzis and Solicitor General Dr Ruth Higgins SC
- A conversation on lifting Australia’s productivity, with ASIC Chair Sarah Court, Treasury Secretary Jenny Wilkinson PSM, NAB CEO Andrew Irvine, and AFR Editor-in-Chief Cosima Marriner.
- The Rest is Politics host Alastair Campbell as the 2026 ASIC Annual Dinner speaker
The Forum will also consider private markets and private credit, trust in professional services firms, the future of financial advice, operational resilience, industry codes, board leadership in a volatile environment, coordination between Australia’s financial regulators, and will announce ASIC’s enforcement priorities for 2027.
The ASIC Annual Forum 2026 will be held on 17 and 18 November at ICC Sydney.