ASIC Corporate Plan 2025–26 – Strategic Priorities and Implications for AFS Licensees

Each year, ASIC publishes its Corporate Plan, outlining the regulator’s strategic priorities and key projects for the year ahead. These plans provide critical insight into ASIC’s intended allocation of resources, enforcement focus, and supervisory activities.

Understanding ASIC’s Strategic Priorities

ASIC’s Corporate Plan identifies five core strategic priorities:

• Improving consumer outcomes, particularly in relation to financial hardship, debt collection practices, and scam prevention
• Strengthening market disclosure and professional conduct
• Supporting better retirement outcomes and member services
• Enhancing digital and data resilience and safety
• Driving integrity and transparency across financial markets

These priorities are shaped by broader macroeconomic and structural trends, including geopolitical uncertainty, technological innovation, demographic shifts, the energy transition, and the growth of private market investment.

Enforcement Approach

ASIC has reaffirmed its commitment to pursuing high penalties and custodial sentences through the courts. The Enforcement and Regulatory Update for H1 2025 highlights ASIC’s active enforcement agenda, which included:

• Criminal convictions and civil penalties totalling $57.5 million
• Focused enforcement on design and distribution obligations
• Misconduct involving superannuation savings
• Insurer failures to act in good faith
• Business models designed to circumvent consumer credit protections

Technology Risks and Cyber Resilience

ASIC continues to prioritise technology-related risks. While digital innovation offers efficiency gains, it also introduces vulnerabilities. ASIC has indicated it will take enforcement action where necessary to protect consumers and investors, particularly in relation to cyber resilience and data governance.

Retirement Outcomes and Superannuation Sector Oversight

The superannuation sector remains a key focus, with APRA reporting $4.1 trillion in assets under management as of March 2025—approximately 150% of Australia’s GDP. Regulatory reform is expected to intensify in response to:

• An ageing population
• Interconnected systemic risks
• Governance and risk management challenges as funds diversify into complex investment landscapes

ASIC’s recent legal actions against superannuation trustees underscore its commitment to improving sector integrity.

Consumer Protection and Dispute Resolution

ASIC’s Corporate Plan places strong emphasis on improving outcomes for consumers, small businesses, and investors. 

Key areas include:

• Credit and financial hardship
• Dispute resolution and complaints handling
• Scam prevention
• Insurance conduct
• Financial literacy via ASIC’s Moneysmart platform

ASIC had introduced new Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) reporting obligations, including public disclosure of IDR outcomes. 

Novus remains compliant with these requirements, and our processes are aligned with ASIC’s expectations.

Financial Market Integrity

ASIC is driving regulatory reform to promote stability, fairness, and transparency in capital markets. Focus areas include:

• Financial reporting
• Director misconduct
• Surveillance of private credit and equity funds, with attention to governance, valuation, liquidity, conflicts of interest, fees, disclosure, and distribution

Outcomes may include supplementary guidance and further targeted surveillance.

Conclusion and Internal Actions

ASIC’s Corporate Plan signals a more proactive, data-driven, and consumer-centric regulatory approach. Financial services firms should anticipate:

• Increased supervisory intensity
• Accelerated enforcement timelines
• Elevated expectations around governance, technology, and consumer outcomes

Proactive compliance and continuous reviews will be essential to mitigate regulatory and reputational risks.