ASIC has announced its enforcement priorities for 2026. ASIC continues to build on its 2025 priorities and has increased its enforcement activity, with ASIC reporting it has doubled the number of new investigations and nearly doubled the number of court-filed matters in the past 12 months.
This update is critical for businesses and regulated entities because ASIC is signalling clear “hot spots” for the year ahead with its expectations around conduct, governance and risk oversight being raised.
Key Messages for Business and Regulated Entities
- ASIC is sharpening its focus on consumer harm stemming from cost-of-living pressures and from misconduct in emerging sectors such as private credit.
- The 2026 priorities reflect a shift from high profile classic misconduct (insider trading, market integrity) towards conduct that impacts the everyday consumer – hardship, complaints handling, poor incident management, pricing.
- ASIC message is clear: having a compliance framework is no longer sufficient – actual conduct, culture and outcomes matter.
- The enforcement environment is intensifying: more investigations, more court actions, larger penalties, and longer sentences. Entities should treat this as a strategic risk and not just a compliance exercise.
Overview of ASIC’s 2026 enforcement priorities
- Misleading pricing practices impacting cost of living: ASIC will continue to protect consumers against practices driving up costs for everyday Australians. This priority is unsurprising in the context of continued cost of living pressures and is likely to impact all sectors, including major banks, insurance companies, credit providers and superannuation trustees. Conduct under ASIC’s scrutiny could include, for example, getting interest rates right and not misleading customers about premium renewal increases.
- Poor private credit practices: The Deputy Chair indicated that this priority comes following ASIC’s private credit fund surveillance report, which highlighted significant room for improvement in the sector, and is intended to “send a message to the rapidly expanding private credit sector to get its governance right.”
- Financial reporting misconduct (including failure to lodge financial reports): ASIC has already launched a surveillance focused on non-lodgment of financial reports by large proprietary companies and expects this to be complete in 2026.
- Misconduct exploiting consumers facing financial difficulty: Protecting the most vulnerable consumers is an enduring enforcement priority for ASIC. Credit providers should have definitive action plans in place to address any gaps or inconsistencies with ASIC’s findings in REP782 and REP783.
- Continuing work to hold those responsible to account for the collapse of the Shield and First Guardian Master Funds: The Deputy Chair noted that ASIC has been “focused on returning available money to investors and the next stage is holding those responsible to account.” So far, ASIC has commenced 10 separate Federal Court proceedings against 18 defendants and has indicated there will be more to come.
- Claims and complaint-handling failures by insurers: ASIC will continue its focus on the insurance sector in circumstances where premiums and claims are on the rise. For other regulated entities, ASIC intends to publish complaint-handling data in 2026. Publishing IDR data ASIC hopes that it will promote transparency by sharing valuable information with consumers while also helping to drive improvements in IDR practices.
- Unlawful practices seeking to evade small business creditors: The Deputy Chair noted that ASIC recognises small businesses as the ‘lifeblood of the economy’ and that owners are frustrated when directors are not held accountable for evading creditors and failing to pay their bills. The regulator has tasked two additional enforcement teams to focus on these issues in 2026.
- Holding super trustees to account for member services failures: Failures to appropriately handle claims were the focus of ASIC’s recent action against CBUS for failures to process death and TPD (total and permanent disablement) claims in a timely manner, breaching its obligation to act efficiently, honestly and fairly.
- Strengthening investigation and prosecution of insider trading conduct: Work in this area was a priority for ASIC in 2025 and will continue into 2026, given the impact of such conduct on Australians’ share market and super fund investments.
- Auditor misconduct: Recognising the important protective role of auditors, ASIC will continue its work to ensure that auditors meet required standards.
Enduring priorities that remain in 2026
In addition to the new priorities for 2026, ASIC will maintain its focus on the following areas:
- misconduct damaging market integrity, including insider trading, continuous disclosure breaches and market manipulation,
- misconduct impacting First Nations people,
- misconduct involving a high risk of significant consumer harm, particularly conduct targeting financially vulnerable consumers,
- systemic compliance failures by large financial institutions, resulting in widespread consumer harm,
- new or emerging conduct risks within the financial system, and
- governance and directors’ duties failures.
For businesses operating in financial services, ASIC’s message to you is clear on how you should be conducting your business. Key areas include:
- pricing transparency and fairness: If your organisation offers financial products or services that could be influenced by cost-of-living pressures—such as consumer credit, insurance, or payment solutions – you should proactively assess pricing models, ensure disclosures are clear and transparent, and review customer communication strategies to maintain trust and compliance.
- private credit and non-traditional lending: Organisations operating in this sector should review their compliance policies, procedures, and team compliance training, ensuring that governance, disclosure obligations, investor protection, and consumer risk remain key priorities.
- financial reporting: Organisations should ensure timely lodgement, robust financial reporting, accuracy and disclosure of risks.
- audit firms: Auditors should ensure their governance practices and quality control processes meet best practice standards as well as being compliant with industry standards.
How can businesses prepare for 2026
ASIC has indicated a continued increase in enforcement activity, with 2025 marked by more investigations, actions, and stronger regulatory outcomes. This heightened focus is expected to persist into 2026, particularly targeting systemic compliance weaknesses within large institutions.
In this environment, businesses and reporting entities should:
- Ensure compliance documentation and supporting evidence are current and comprehensive. If ASIC initiates an investigation, Organisations must be able to demonstrate awareness of relevant risks, a thorough assessment process, and reasonable steps taken to mitigate those risks.
- Provide ongoing training for compliance teams to identify potential issues early and escalate concerns promptly.
Recent proceedings, such as those involving ANZ, underscore that having documented policies and skilled compliance personnel alone is insufficient. Regulators, including ASIC, will scrutinise actual conduct and call out breaches of internal policies.
Our team at GRC can help you stay ahead of ASIC’s enforcement priorities for 2026. We offer a comprehensive suite of training products as well as tailored or customised training products designed to strengthen your compliance frameworks and minimise regulatory exposure.
Contact us today to discuss how we can support your business in navigating this evolving compliance landscape.