The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) has outlined its current regulatory priorities for financial advice, highlighting high-pressure sales practices as a key investor harm risk, warning licensees to ensure advisers meet the qualifications standard by 1 January 2026, and flagging an early-stage review of how firms are managing risks from offshore outsourcing. ASIC described concerning sales models that use online “lost super” or “super health check” promotions to capture consumer details, followed by telemarketing and advice to switch superannuation into high-risk investments often involving property development, with significant fee leakage. Enforcement activity has included court actions to preserve assets and ongoing investigations, with further action expected, alongside a new social media campaign directing consumers to Moneysmart; licensees were reminded to maintain effective supervision to detect issues and to report concerning conduct to ASIC, including misconduct involving other licensees. On adviser qualifications, ASIC’s spot check of the 15,610 relevant providers on the Financial Advisers Register found 6,426 with an approved degree or qualification and 4,604 yet to meet the standard, with data issues including apparent ineligible use of the experienced provider pathway and claims of incomplete or unapproved courses; licensees were told to verify eligibility, correct register records, and notify ASIC, supported by a one-off temporary dataset published by ASIC. On offshoring, ASIC noted increasing use of overseas outsourcing for financial planning administration and paraplanning, reiterated that licensee obligations under Regulatory Guide 104 apply regardless of where functions are performed, and said its review will assess governance and controls particularly around technology, data protection, privacy and transparency, with observations to be shared later in the year.

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