Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) Chair Sarah Court outlined six areas for potential action to improve capital market access, efficiency and resilience in opening remarks at the second Financial Markets and Innovation Roundtable in Sydney on Oct. 27, 2026. Building on the initial roundtable in June and subsequent industry discussions, the session aimed to move from identifying opportunities to considering practical solutions for ASIC, policymakers and industry. Access priorities cover liquidity and participation for retail investors, alongside support for emerging and innovative companies. Efficiency priorities focus on reducing friction in collateral mobility and interoperability, and aligning settlement windows to improve post trade efficiency. The remaining areas concern critical market infrastructure and resilience, and transparency in valuation and margining to monitor channels for systemic risk. These priorities reflect stakeholder concerns about operational resilience, cyber preparedness, infrastructure dependencies and concentration risk as markets become more interconnected and dependent on technology. Court called for the session to produce a shortlist of practical actions that could deliver improvements over six to 18 months, with greater clarity on who should lead them. She also invited proposals to improve regulatory settings that unnecessarily inhibit growth or productivity, rather than adding regulation unnecessarily.
ASIC Chair Sarah Court outlines six focus areas for capital market access, efficiency and resilience
ASIC Chair Sarah Court outlined six areas for practical capital market improvements at the regulator’s second Financial Markets and Innovation Roundtable, building on discussions begun in June. Priorities cover retail liquidity and company funding, collateral mobility and settlement efficiency, and infrastructure resilience and transparency in valuation and margining. She sought a shortlist of actions that could deliver improvements over six to 18 months, with clearer leadership responsibilities across ASIC, policymakers and industry.