Australia’s corporate and financial services watchdog will be led by Sarah Court with outgoing chair Joe Longo welcoming the appointment and praising her enforcement pedigree and role in reshaping the regulator. Court will commence in the top job at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) on June 1.
In an ASIC media release today, Longo said Court would bring “deep regulatory expertise” to the chair role after a career in public service, describing her as “an exceptional regulator with a strong record in enforcement that demonstrates her integrity and impact”.
Longo also credited Court — currently ASIC’s deputy chair — with helping drive the agency’s “structural transformation” that he said has strengthened the regulator's “enforcement posture”, delivering “better outcomes for consumers and a fairer financial system”.
“ASIC will be in very capable hands under her leadership,” Longo said, adding he would support Court, the commission and staff “over the coming months” to ensure a “smooth and orderly transition”.
For the insurance industry, the appointment is likely to be read as a signal of continuity rather than a reset. Court has been central to the enforcement-forward direction ASIC has taken in recent years, including a sharper willingness to litigate and a push to lift organisational capability — an approach that has direct implications for insurers’ product governance and distribution practices, as well as brokers’ compliance settings across advice, disclosure and client communications.
The chair role is also one of the most consequential seats in Australia’s regulatory architecture for financial services, shaping the tone and priorities of supervision across markets, corporate conduct and consumer protection. While APRA remains the prudential regulator for insurers, ASIC’s remit covers a broad span of conduct obligations that can materially affect pricing and product design decisions, claims handling standards, and how intermediaries structure sales and remuneration processes.
Court will become the first woman to chair ASIC after previously working as a commissioner at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and as a senior lawyer at the Australian Government Solicitor.
While announcing the appointment, Treasurer Jim Chalmers praised Court’s contribution to the regulator’s capability, saying she had “substantially strengthened ASIC’s enforcement and investigation capabilities” and that “under her leadership, ASIC has delivered some of its strongest enforcement results on record."
An ABC news report said Court’s elevation comes amid a “record number of women” leading key economic institutions, naming Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock, ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb, Treasury secretary Jenny Wilkinson and Productivity Commission chair Danielle Wood.
The appointment lands as ASIC’s posture remains contested in parts of the market. The ABC report noted criticism from some quarters that the regulator has been overly aggressive in litigation, alongside criticism in the opposite direction following the collapse of First Guardian and Shield managed investment funds.
For insurers and brokers, Court’s move to the top job will sharpen attention on how consistently ASIC applies its enforcement lens to conduct issues — particularly where distribution models, consumer outcomes and the boundaries between sales and advice continue to attract regulatory scrutiny.
