New research released ysterday by ASIC shows that Australia is well-placed to harness an ongoing surge of financial innovation.

The Innovation in Financial Technology and RegTech research, conducted by the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC) for ASIC, lays out how Fintech and Regtech innovations are evolving across the world.

It highlights that artificial intelligence is becoming embedded in everyday financial operations, including credit underwriting, claims processing, portfolio management and disclosure.

ASIC Chair Joe Longo said, ‘Australia has long been a laboratory for innovation, gifting the world groundbreaking technologies from wi-fi to the cochlear implant. The same spirit exists in our financial system.

‘For example, Australia is a global leader in some areas, including its “world-class” payments infrastructure, and pioneering ‘buy now pay later’ sector.’

Mr Longo said that as the pace of change accelerates, industry and regulators will need to work together to ensure that Australia not only keeps up but stays ahead.

‘ASIC has often said we want to identify opportunities to back innovation in Australia, and it is clear that innovation can significantly improve productivity in our financial system, boost Australia’s economy and lead to better consumer experiences,’ said Mr Longo.

‘As a regulator, ASIC’s role is to make sure that when innovation happens, it happens safely and responsibly, with the wellbeing of end consumers at the forefront of everyone’s minds. Good regulation is good for consumers – and good for business.’

‘That’s why ASIC will continue to prioritise simple, principles-based regulation through our regulatory simplification initiative. We will continue to engage with industry to strike the right balance between protecting consumers, bolstering market integrity and promoting innovation.’

Commissioning the research forms part of ASIC’s strategy to support responsible innovation in Australia’s financial system. It will inform ongoing industry engagement, including through the ASIC Digital Finance Advisory Panel (DFAP) and targeted roundtables.

Download

Innovation in Financial Technology and RegTech

Background

Innovation in Australia

In 2025, Australian startups raised more than $5 billion in venture capital (VC) funding, the third best year on record, and up by almost half since 2018, just behind France and Germany.

For every $1 billion of VC money invested since 2000, Australia has produced 1.22 unicorns which is a higher ratio than any other country and almost twice the number for the United States.^[1]

Innovation Hub

Since 2015, ASIC’s Innovation Hub has helped innovative FinTech and RegTech businesses navigate the Australian regulatory framework. It also provides a platform for domestic and international engagement on financial innovation and RegTech-related developments.

ASIC supports the goal of responsible innovation by:

• providing informal assistance to innovative businesses on their potential regulatory obligations and the licensing process
• administering the Enhanced Regulatory Sandbox (ERS; where the legislation provides a limited licensing exemption for eligible fintechs to test innovative business models), and
• driving information sharing and cooperation through our external Digital Finance Advisory Panel (DFAP), and other regular engagement with industry and peer regulators, both domestic and international.

In November 2025, ASIC Chair Joe Longo announced that ASIC would review and re-launch the ASIC Innovation Hub, with a focus on seeking out ways ASIC can support financial market innovations in Australia.

This review concluded in March 2026, where we identified several areas where it can improve and several areas where ASIC will take the lead on navigating the structural change that system-wide innovation brings, so that Australia’s markets are fit for the future.

The DFCRC published another report (The Economic Impact Potential of Digital Finance Innovation in Australia Report) in March 2026.

Project Acacia

Earlier this week the RBA and DFCRC released the final report of Project Acacia, Exploring the role of digital money in wholesale tokenised asset markets. ASIC was one of the participating agencies in the project and continues to work with the RBA and other agencies on some further work flowing from the report.

Regulatory Simplification

In May 2026, we published our Regulatory simplification progress report, demonstrating ASIC’s commitment to make regulation clearer, more accessible and easier to navigate.

In September 2025, we published our regulatory simplification report. The report sets out ASIC’s progress on initiatives and seeks a broad range of views on how we can more efficiently and effectively administer the law in the areas we regulate, how we can make it easier to interact with us, and how we can simplify guidance, legislative instruments and forms.

Opportunities to reduce red tape through law reform are also on the table. Our efforts to simplify regulation of the financial sector will deliver benefits for consumers, businesses and investors, while contributing to the Government’s productivity agenda.

———-

Notes:
[1] ‘Australia’s startup scene is thriving at last’ (16 April 2026) The Economist

ASIC has ramped up enforcement activity and commenced a significant body of work to address regulatory complexity and strengthen Australia’s markets, its latest annual report has shown.

ASIC Chair Joe Longo said that investments in the agency’s operational capabilities, including in its digital technologies, cyber resilience and data analytics, had paid dividends.

‘The ongoing operational uplift at ASIC has helped to deliver a 50% increase in investigations, an almost 20% increase in new civil enforcement proceedings and the completion of 829 targeted surveillances,’ said Mr Longo.

‘ASIC has also commenced a significant program of regulatory work.

‘We are shining a light on Australia’s capital markets through our public and private markets work, building stronger retirement outcomes with our superannuation members services work, and fostering efficiency as part of our regulatory simplification work.’

The ambitious program of work undertaken by ASIC over the 2024-25 financial year included a number of significant outcomes, including:

• publishing ASIC’s first discussion paper into the dynamics of Australia’s public and private markets
• launching the Regulatory Simplification Consultative Group
• commencing an inquiry into the ASX’s governance, capability and risk management following serious and repeated failures
• uncovering death benefit failures in the superannuation sector, and launching enforcement actions against Cbus and Australian Super
• reviewing the use of AI by financial services and credit licensees
• taking down over 6,900 investment scam and phishing websites, and
• securing $104.1 million in court-ordered civil penalties and $16.8 million in court-imposed criminal fines.

Mr Longo said that ASIC was becoming the modern, confident and ambitious regulator that Australians need.

‘ASIC’s ongoing work demonstrates that ASIC responds to emerging challenges in the broader financial ecosystem, from the advent of AI to the increasing dominance of private credit in our capital markets. We are taking impactful enforcement action and a leading approach to solving regulatory problems to protect consumers and support the integrity of our markets.’

Download

ASIC Annual Report 2024–25

New statistics detail a boost to ASIC’s investigation and enforcement activity as the agency outlines its focuses in the year ahead.

ASIC Chair Joe Longo said the agency’s transformation with new Commissioners, a new CEO and refreshed executive team had helped deliver a 50 per cent boost in investigation numbers over the past year, and a nearly 20 per cent increase in new civil enforcement proceedings.

‘That transformation is key to ensuring ASIC can continue to serve the Australian community,’ Mr Longo said.

‘The operating environment for our financial ecosystem is increasingly complicated and that requires a well-calibrated response from ASIC which we have detailed with our Corporate Plan.

‘We direct our efforts and finite resources to areas where we see the greatest risks and potential harms. In some cases, that means continuing work already underway, such as our efforts to combat high-risk super switching. In other cases, this means pivoting to new or emerging issues or causes for concern.

‘Our plan highlights more than a dozen new regulatory initiatives from reviews of offset accounts and debt collection, to whistleblower protections and SMSF establishment advice.

‘That is in addition to key work on the roadmap for our public and private capital markets, holding superannuation trustees to account for Australians’ retirement savings, and, of course, our inquiry into the ASX to ensure Australia has stable, secure and resilient market infrastructure.

‘This plan demonstrates our commitment to being a modern, confident and ambitious regulator.’

Mr Longo said the plan formalised ASIC’s focus on regulatory simplification.

‘Less than a year ago I convened the ASIC Simplification Consultative Group to consider what we can do to reduce regulatory complexity and help Australians navigate it,’ Mr Longo said.

‘A focus on simpler and better regulation is now a concrete part of ASIC’s 2025-29 plan and will see the agency continue that focus to make it easier to interact with ASIC, to understand our expectations, for us to administer the law, and ultimately to cut red tape.’

ASIC’s Corporate Plan also outlines how the agency is maturing its approach to measuring and assessing its performance, including introducing a new suite of performance measures.

‘This will help our stakeholders better understand ASIC’s impact,’ Mr Longo said.

Background

• In 2024-25, ASIC commenced 38 new civil proceedings and 252 formal investigations.
• In 2023-24, ASIC commenced 32 new civil proceedings and 168 formal investigations.

Downloads

Corporate Plan 2025-26

ASIC has commenced a targeted review that may help boost investment in property by Australia’s superannuation funds.

The review will focus on requirements to disclose stamp duty payments in Regulatory Guide 97 Disclosing fees and costs in PDSs and periodic statements (RG 97). Concerns have been raised that the disclosure impacts performance test results and discourages investment in property by superannuation funds.

ASIC Chair Joe Longo said the agency was responding to consultation at the recent investor roundtable convened by the Treasurer.

‘This is exactly the sort of actionable idea to address regulatory issues ASIC is open to testing,’ Mr Longo said.

‘If the review finds appropriate changes will deliver benefits without undermining disclosures, then ASIC will act.

‘We want to ensure red tape isn’t unnecessarily holding back investments.

‘A significant portion of Australia’s $4 trillion superannuation system already invests in property assets, but we have heard there is appetite for more.

‘This review will allow us to look at the way our regulations govern the calculation of fee-adjusted returns and encourage transparency and investment in our economy.’

Mr Longo said the review would also consider whether class order relief should be given to bring consistency to how internally and externally managed private credit arrangements are disclosed.

‘A change like that could encourage internal management meaning lower costs for superannuation members as well as continuing to support safe credit growth for business borrowers.’

The review will be led by ASIC and include industry representatives, and Treasury. The review will report by 30 November.

Background

The review panel will seek direct submissions from experts and key stakeholders.

RG 97 currently requires the disclosure of transactional and operational costs including brokerage, buy-sell spread, settlement costs (including custody costs), clearing costs, and stamp duty on an investment transaction.

RG 97 governs which fees and costs must be disclosed in APRA’s superannuation fund performance test. If the investment is in an unlisted property such as a new apartment, the stamp duty fee is disclosed as transaction cost. For investments in listed property such as a real estate trust, stamp duty is rolled into the investment fees disclosure.

Not every fee and cost is included due to their difficulty to itemise. For example borrowing costs, property operating costs, and unless the costs are indirect costs covered by cl 101A(3)(a)(ii), implicit transaction costs or market impact costs.

Related information

RG 97 Disclosing fees and costs in PDSs and periodic statements

ASIC is suing financial advice business Fortnum Private Wealth Limited alleging it failed to properly manage and mitigate cybersecurity risks.

In proceedings filed in the NSW Supreme Court, ASIC alleges Fortnum did not meet its obligations as an Australian financial services licensee because it failed to have adequate policies, frameworks, systems and controls in place to deal with cybersecurity risks.

As a result, ASIC claims Fortnum exposed the company, its authorised representatives (ARs) and clients of its ARs to an unacceptable level of risk of a cyber-attack or a cybersecurity incident.

While Fortnum introduced a specific cybersecurity policy from April 2021, ASIC contends the policy was not an adequate response to manage cybersecurity risk.

Before Fortnum revised its policy in May 2023, several of its ARs experienced cyber incidents. One of these was a cyber attack that ASIC alleges led to a major breach and saw the data of more than 9,000 clients published on the dark web.

ASIC Chair Joe Longo said, ‘Fortnum’s alleged failure to adequately manage cybersecurity risks exposed the company, its representatives and their clients to an unacceptable level of risk of a cyber-attack.’

‘ASIC has been highlighting the cybersecurity responsibilities of companies. Australian financial services licensees, in particular, hold a range of sensitive and confidential information.

‘That is why it is one of our enforcement priorities to act where we see licensees fail to have adequate protections,’ Mr Longo said.

As part of the action, ASIC alleges Fortnum did not:

• require that its ARs undertake a prescribed minimum amount of cybersecurity education or training,
• adequately supervise or monitor the cybersecurity risk management framework of its ARs,
• have any employees with specialised expertise or experience in cybersecurity or engage a consultant with appropriate expertise to assist with the development of its cybersecurity policy, and
• have a risk management system which addressed cybersecurity or policies, frameworks, systems or controls which enabled the identification and evaluation of cybersecurity risks across its ARs.

ASIC is seeking a declaration and pecuniary penalty against Fortnum.

Download

Originating Process and Concise Statement (PDF 250 KB)

ASIC has announced it has appointed three panel members to conduct its Inquiry into Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) group.

This follows ASIC’s recent announcement of an Inquiry into ASX, focusing on the frameworks and practices in relation to governance, capability and risk management within the ASX group (25-103MR).

ASIC has appointed Rob Whitfield as Chair of the panel and Christine Holman and Guy Debelle as panel members.

ASIC Chair Joe Longo said, ‘Rob, Christine and Guy bring a wealth of experience in their roles as members of ASX top 20 boards and government investment funds, as well as deep experience across global markets, banking, regulatory, risk and technology.

‘Their depth of experience and skills will be invaluable as we undergo this Inquiry.’

The Inquiry panel will be asked to make recommendations to address any identified shortcomings or deficiencies in relation to governance, capability and risk management within ASX group.

The Inquiry panel will provide a report to ASIC by 31 March 2026 which will inform the next steps ASIC may take. ASIC will make this report public.

Rob Whitfield

Rob is an independent non-executive director of Commonwealth Bank, a non-executive director of Transurban Limited and a member of the Council of the Australian National University.

During Rob’s 30-year career with Westpac Banking Corporation, he held roles as Chief Executive Officer of the Institutional Bank, Chief Risk Officer, Group Treasurer and Chair of the Asia Advisory Board. After leaving Westpac, he held roles as Chair and Director of New South Wales Treasury Corporation, and Secretary of NSW Treasury and Industrial Relations.

In 2020, Rob was awarded the Order of Australia (AM) for his significant service to the banking and finance sector and public administration.

Rob holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of NSW, a Grad Dip in Banking, and a Grad Dip in Finance from UTS and has completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. Rob is also a senior fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia and a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Christine Holman

Christine is a non-executive director of two ASX listed boards, AGL Ltd, and Collins Foods Ltd, and one private company, Indara Pty Ltd which is a joint venture between Australian Super and Singtel.

Christine’s 35-year executive and board career included leading teams across the media, property, industrial, infrastructure, private investment, and technology sectors. She was formerly Chief Financial Officer and Commercial Director at Telstra Broadcast Services and advised management and the boards of investee companies at Capital Investment Group.

Christine also sits on the boards of Football Australia, The State Library of NSW Foundation, and The McGrath Foundation and a member of the Corporate Governance Committee at the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

Christine has an MBA and Post-Graduate Diploma in Management from Macquarie University and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

Guy Debelle

Guy Debelle is chair of FundsSA and a board member of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, e61 and Tivan. He is also an adviser to the Investment Committee of Australian Retirement Trust, chair of the advisory board of Famille Capital, and an honorary professor of economics at Adelaide University.

Guy was the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia for six years having worked at the RBA for 25 years, including 10 years as Assistant Governor Financial Markets. After leaving the RBA, Guy worked at Fortescue Future Industries as CFO.

Background

On 16 June 2025, ASIC announced it would establish an Inquiry, following ongoing concerns that it shares with the Reserve Bank of Australia over ASX’s ability to maintain stable, secure and resilient critical market infrastructure (25-103MR).

The Commission and Inquiry panel will be supported by an ASIC Secretariat led by ASIC Senior Executive Jane Eccleston. The Secretariat is expected to include secondees from the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority as well as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Full details can be found in the Inquiry’s Terms of Reference.