Australian Securities & Investments Commission ramps up enforcement moves

The corporate watchdog will ramp up its regulatory compliance and enforcement activities after a near-25 per cent increase in new investigations and civil proceedings over the past 12 months.

ASIC chair Joe Longo. Picture: Aaron Francis / The Australian

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission is ramping up its regulatory compliance and enforcement activities, according to its latest annual report, including a near-25 per cent increase in new investigations and civil proceedings.

In the report released on Tuesday, the corporate watchdog said 168 formal investigations were started in the year to June 30, up from 134 in the previous year, while 32 civil proceedings involving actions against 69 defendants were initiated – a 23 per cent rise.

However, civil penalties handed out as a result of ASIC-initiated proceedings halved to $90.8m, down from $185.4m in 2022-23, in a year when several record penalties were awarded by the courts.

The number of completed surveillance activities was also well down – from 1301 to 690 – due to a number of planned surveillance projects in 2022-23, including a compliance program for self-managed superannuation fund auditors.

In his report, ASIC chairman Joe Longo said the agency achieved several regulatory and enforcement firsts in 2023-24, including the first win in a greenwashing civil penalty action (against Vanguard Investments), the first stop order on a life insurance product (on Clearview Life Assurance) and the first infringement notice issued to a market operator, when the ASX paid a penalty of $1.05m earlier this year in light of an investigation into its compliance with the market integrity rules.

ASIC chair Joe Longo. Picture: John Feder/The Australian.

“We are seeing the benefits of our transformation work as an agency,” Mr Longo said.

“Change and transformation also naturally lead to disruption and we acknowledge there are areas we can continue to improve.

“We have seen a number of changes in ASIC’s executive leadership team over the last year, which means we are well positioned to meet the challenges and opportunities the agency faces.

“We will continue to evolve and respond to new challenges in our operating environment and to the threats and harms that emerge.”

ASIC introduced a new internal structure in July last year, marking what it described at the time as “the most significant organisational redesign in 15 years”.

The new structure was aimed at speeding up the regulator’s ­decision-making, including combining ASIC’s two enforcement arms into one.

Last week the regulator announced it would promote general counsel Chris Savundra to the role of executive director of enforcement and compliance, following the departure of Tim Mullaly, who previously held the role at the regulator after the organisational restructure. ASIC has also poached Austrac regulator Peter Soros to head up its regulation and supervision ­division.

ASIC revealed on Tuesday it had taken down more than 7300 investment scams and phishing websites in the year to June 30 after its scam website takedown capability was launched in July last year.

Originally published as Australian Securities & Investments Commission ramps up enforcement moves