ASIC's enforcement priorities for 2026: new focus areas and enduring priorities

ASIC has released its enforcement priorities for 2026.  Each year, ASIC outlines the key areas of conduct, sectors, and behaviours it will target in the year ahead.  The 2026 priorities continue ASIC’s now-established pattern of combining emerging consumer-focused issues with long-standing, high-impact "enduring" enforcement themes.  Through its priorities ASIC has signalled:  

• a continued focus on financial reporting, auditor conduct, and superannuation governance through the enduring priorities;

• heightened scrutiny on new priorities focused on misconduct that compounds cost-of-living pressures as well as poor practices by insurers; and

• a clear indication that it will enforce major corporate collapses notably with respect to the Shield and First Guardian Master Funds.

New enforcement priorities for 2026

ASIC has outlined its 2026 enforcement agenda, highlighting new enforcement priorities which aim to protect consumer trust and confidence while ensuring the proper function of the market.  These priorities are summarised below.

Misleading pricing practices impacting cost of living.  As ASIC's Deputy Chair Sarah Court stated, ASIC will sharpen its focus on “misleading pricing practices in the financial services sector, particularly those that make everyday costs harder for Australians”.  Rounding out her address at the ASIC annual forum, Ms Court noted that ASIC's focus is on consumers, so it will be addressing misleading pricing practices in a number of consumer-facing areas such as "big banks, insurance companies, credit providers or superannuation trustees".

Poor private-credit practices.  Within Australia's rapidly expanding $200 billion private credit sector, ASIC will intensify its scrutiny of private-credit fund misconduct.  Ms Court explained that ASIC "won’t hesitate to take enforcement action to stamp out misconduct in the sector so we can support confident and informed participation, investor protection and market integrity."

Financial-reporting misconduct including failure to lodge financial reports.  Ms Court emphasised that "[r]eliable 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."  Accordingly, ASIC is expected to focus its enforcement on entities that do not comply with financial‑reporting obligations to bolster transparency and accountability in both listed and unlisted sectors.

Misconduct exploiting consumers facing financial difficulty including predatory credit practices.  In a recent address, ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland cautioned that lending and credit services must not place consumers "at foreseeable risk of financial hardship.”  Mr Kirkland reaffirmed ASIC's commitment to taking enforcement action where credit-related misconduct causes harm to consumers, warning that "[i]f the result of an entity's conduct in any part of the credit system causes harm to consumers … you should expect ASIC to take an active interest."  

Continuing its work to hold those responsible to account for the collapse of the Shield and First Guardian Master Funds.  ASIC alleges that these funds exposed thousands of Australians to poor financial advice and significant risks through oversight and compliance failures.  As such, ASIC is focused on returning available money to investors and holding those responsible to account.  As Ms Court explained, "more than 40 people are continuing to investigate the collapse of the Shield and First Guardian Master Funds and, as one of ASIC’s largest and most complex cases ever, it has been elevated to a new, dedicated priority." 

Claims-handling and complaints failures by insurers.  Ms Court told the ASIC annual forum that "with premiums ever-increasing, claims rising and insurance becoming increasingly out of reach, we will continue our focus on this sector." Indicative of its intentions for the year ahead, ASIC is actively pursuing actions against several entities, including Hollard Insurance over a home building claim that took over three years to resolve, Choosi Pty Ltd for alleged failings in its comparison site practices, and RACQ for concerns related to misleading comparison pricing.

Existing enforcement priorities

In addition to identifying new focus areas, ASIC has retained several priorities from 2025 where the risk of consumer harm or market misconduct remains elevated.  ASIC also continues to maintain a set of long-standing "enduring priorities" which aim to address the most systemic and persistent forms of misconduct.

• Unlawful practices seeking to evade small business creditors

• Holding super trustees to account for member services failures

• Strengthening investigation and prosecution of insider trading conduct

• Auditor misconduct

• ASIC’s “enduring priorities” remain constant, reflecting the regulator’s view of the conduct that causes the most systemic failures and ensuring a fair, strong, and efficient financial system for all Australians.  These priorities include:

  • 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 affecting financially vulnerable customers.

  • 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.

ASIC has not carried-over several priorities from its 2025 agenda, including:

• Misconduct exploiting superannuation savings;

• Unscrupulous property investment schemes;

• Business models designed to avoid consumer credit protections;

• Debt management and collection misconduct;

• Licensee failures to have adequate cyber-security protections;

• Greenwashing and misleading conduct involving ESG claims; and

• Used car finance sold to vulnerable consumers by finance providers.