The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has announced its enforcement priorities for 2026, identifying issues relevant to the insurance sector, including claims and complaints management, pricing transparency, and financial reporting. The regulator’s agenda outlines areas of risk for consumers and the integrity of Australia’s financial markets.
ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court described the regulator’s approach, stating that the 2026 priorities are designed to address both new and ongoing risks in the financial sector, including those affecting insurers. ASIC’s areas of focus include failures in insurance claims and complaints handling, as well as misleading pricing practices that may impact Australians’ cost of living. “We are continuing to deliver strong, visible, and active enforcement outcomes. We’re doing more investigations, taking more matters to court, and securing record penalties,” Court said.
Court noted that ASIC has increased its enforcement activity over the past year. “In the last 12 months, we’ve doubled the number of new investigations and nearly doubled the number of new matters filed in court. We’ve also worked hard to increase our criminal prosecutions, and seen lengthy sentences imposed for financial fraud offences,” she said.
The 2026 enforcement agenda includes:
Ongoing priorities also remain in areas such as insider trading, predatory lending, small business creditor rights, superannuation trustee conduct, and auditor oversight.
ASIC’s enforcement strategy includes a focus on financial reporting, particularly as unlisted assets become more common in the economy. Court said: “Reliable financial information remains more important than ever, particularly as entities with unlisted assets, such as super funds and private credit funds, play a bigger role in the economy. In 2026, we will step up enforcement action against financial reporting misconduct.”
ASIC is allocating resources to cases such as the investigation into the collapse of the Shield and First Guardian Master Funds. Court stated that more than 40 staff are assigned to these matters, which are now a primary enforcement focus. “We have been focused on returning available money to investors and the next stage is holding those responsible to account for the Shield and First Guardian collapses,” she said.
Recent enforcement actions by ASIC include:
ASIC’s annual report for 2024-25 notes a 50% increase in investigations and nearly 20% more civil enforcement actions. The regulator also completed over 800 targeted surveillances during the period.
Chair Joe Longo stated that these figures are linked to changes in ASIC’s operations, such as the use of digital tools and data analytics. “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,” Longo said.
Other activities during the year included a review of AI use by financial licensees, changes to regulatory processes, and enforcement actions in the superannuation sector. ASIC also reported actions against scam websites and civil penalties totalling over $100 million.
