ASIC unveils 2026 Enforcement Priorities and signals the recent uplift in ASIC’s Enforcement Action is set to continue

How have ASIC’s priorities changed?

Top of the list for 2026 is misleading pricing practices impacting cost of living for Australians. Whilst this and several other priorities are clearly targeted at banks, insurance companies, credit providers and superannuation trustees who can all expect to be under heavy scrutiny, many of the priorities will have a broader application and are not limited to those operating in the financial services sector.

Interestingly, financial reporting misconduct has emerged as a new priority, with a particular emphasis on failures to lodge financial reports. To assist with this crack down, ASIC has launched a surveillance project focussed on non-lodgement of financial reports by large companies[2].

Unlawful practices seeking to evade small business creditors made the list again for 2026. ASIC’s Deputy Chair, Sarah Court, cited the frustrations of small business owners, the “lifeblood of the economy”, when directors of other business are not held to account for failing to pay their invoices. The Deputy Chair acknowledged that more work is needed in this area, which will be supported going forward by two additional enforcement teams that have been tasked with focussing on these unlawful practices.

Whilst it dropped down the list, strengthening investigation and prosecution of insider trading conduct will remain a priority for ASIC. ASIC noted that a specialist team was established in 2025 to focus exclusively on this issue and their work is set to continue in 2026.

The other significant change from previous years is the downgrade of ASIC’s “intense focus” on greenwashing, with this issue falling off the priority list. The Deputy Chair addressed this by noting that a “number of impactful decisions”, including the $10.5 million penalty imposed on Active Super for misleading ESG representations, “sent a clear message” about how greenwashing conduct would be punished.

ASIC as a more active regulator

In announcing the 2026 priorities, the Deputy Chair was quick to highlight the enforcement momentum that has built over recent times with ASIC delivering “more investigations, more actions and stronger outcomes”.

Indeed, in the last 12 months, ASIC have doubled the number of new investigations and almost doubled the number of new matters filed in Court[3]. This increased enforcement activity demonstrates ASIC’s commitment to being a more active and stronger regulator. However, it has been the record penalties which have really reinforced the financial imperative of ensuring that corporate compliance is high on the agenda. Recent key penalties include the following:

• ANZ has agreed to pay a $240 million penalty – this will be the largest penalty ASIC has ever levelled against a single entity if it is approved by the Federal Court. The penalty relates to ANZ;
  • acting unconscionably and overstating bond trading data to the Australian Government by tens of billions;
  • failing to address hundreds of customer hardship notices for over two years;
  • false and misleading statements regarding savings interest rates; and
  • failing to refund fees charged to thousands of deceased customers.[4]
• Macquarie’s undertaking to repay investors who invested approximately $321 million in Shield Master Fund after admitting that it didn’t act efficiently, honestly and fairly by failing to place Shield on a watch list for heightened monitoring.[5]
• An ASIC-record 14-year prison sentence for Perth businessman Chris Marco for fraud charges totalling $34.3 million in respect of a “Ponzi scheme”.[6]

Enduring Priorities

ASIC’s more active enforcement approach also extends to its enduring priorities, which have remained unchanged since 2024. The following cases represent some of the most significant penalties in this space from 2025:

• iSignthis was fined $10 million for breaching disclosure laws and misleading and deceptive conduct. Its former CEO was penalised $1 million and banned from managing corporations for six years for breaching director duties, failing to comply with continuous disclosure obligations and failing to ensure information given to the ASX was not false or misleading.[7]
• Sticking with director duties, two Open4Sale Global directors were fined a total of $2.8 million for making unfounded claims to investors that Open4Sale would make in excess of USD $57 billion in revenue in the next 5 years without any reasonable basis.[8]
• The most notable instance of market manipulation was by Societe Generale Securities Australia, who was penalised $3.88 million for failing to prevent 33 suspicious orders from being placed on the electricity and wheat futures market.[9]
• Former investment manager Rodney Forrest is due for sentence in the Federal Court next month for engaging in insider trading. While possessing inside information, Forrest invested $2.6 million in Platinum Asset Management shares and procured others to invest also.[10]

Key Takeaways

1. Financial reporting misconduct will be a key focus for ASIC in 2026, which is already evident through their three REP reports[11] in 2025. Domestic and overseas companies with Australian subsidiaries should be extra conscious of ASIC’s reporting requirements.
2. Small business creditors will be a key focus for ASIC with two extra enforcement teams in this area – beware if you are not paying customers and suppliers on time.
3. Notwithstanding the removal of Greenwashing as an express enforcement priority for 2026, ASIC’s approach to greenwashing serves as a cautionary tale, demonstrating that the regulator is serious about delivering enforcement outcomes in a visible and timely manner. Companies should take heed as it appears that ASIC is determined to dish out more penalties, especially for new priorities, in 2026.