Australian Securities & Investments Commission sets 2026 enforcement priorities targeting misleading pricing, private credit misconduct and insurer claims handling

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) has published its 2026 enforcement priorities, signalling where it will focus investigations and court action across financial services and markets. New priorities include misleading pricing practices impacting cost of living, poor private credit practices, financial reporting misconduct including failure to lodge financial reports, and claims and complaint handling failures by insurers, alongside continued work on accountability for the collapse of the Shield and First Guardian Master Funds. Continuing priorities cover insider trading investigations and prosecutions, misconduct exploiting consumers facing financial difficulty including predatory credit practices, unlawful practices seeking to evade small business creditors, superannuation trustee member services failures, and auditor misconduct. ASIC reported that over the past 12 months it doubled new investigations and nearly doubled new matters filed in court, and highlighted recent outcomes including proposed combined penalties of AUD 240 million against ANZ, proceedings against Macquarie and a court-enforceable undertaking to repay AUD 320 million to affected Shield Master Fund investors, and a 14-year prison sentence for fraud offences. More than 40 people remain assigned to the Shield and First Guardian investigations, which ASIC said have been elevated to a dedicated priority.