Last week, the corporate watchdog claimed the products were too risky for retail investors.

The three products - the 6 Month (Fixed and Variable) Account, 12 Month (Fixed and Variable) Account and At Call Account - sit under the Remara Cash Management Fund, a registered managed investment scheme.

ASIC had hit Remara and its trustee Melbourne Securities Corporation (MSC) with the interim design distribution orders (DDO) stop orders for 21 days unless revoked earlier.

Amendments made by Remara addressed ASIC's concerns by removing 'capital preservation' as a suitable investment objective and introducing a new category of 'low capital volatility'.

It also amended the rating of the consumer's risk and return profile from low to a rating of medium and potentially low to medium.

The fund removed generalised access-to-capital categories and replaced them with categories specific to the products, which consider the redemption timeframes under its constitution.

It also reduced the percentage of investor's investable assets considered to be appropriate for investment in the products from 'major component' (up to 75%) and 'core component' (up to 50%) to 'minor' (up to 25%) and 'satellite' (up to 10%).

ASIC recommended investors in the products to review whether they remain suitable for their financial objectives, situation or needs.

ASIC's surveillance of private credit funds includes targeting the distribution of private credit funds to retail clients through direct and advised channels, as well as examining fees, margin structures and conflict-of-interest management in wholesale private credit funds.

Last week, the corporate regulator urged the private credit sector to uplift standards, noting participants should prepare for enforcement action if they fail to do so.

APRA said the reforms are the next phase of its multi-year focus on lifting investment governance standards across the superannuation industry, particularly within the platform trustee segment.

In the consultation paper, APRA said it has "elevated concerns" around the platform segment.

"Platform trustees often oversee large and complex investment menus, rely on adviser and promoter-led distribution, and allow members considerable discretion to concentrate their savings in individual investments," it said.

"These features can make investments harder to oversee, create conflicts that may influence trustee decisions and increase the risk of severe loss where investments perform poorly or fail.

"APRA's supervisory work has found that these heightened risks have not always been matched by sufficiently strong governance practices. Weaknesses include inadequate scrutiny when investments are onboarded, ineffective monitoring and remediation, inconsistent enforcement of investment limits, poor management of conflicts involving third parties, and insufficient capability and resources to oversee complex investment menus."

The proposal would strengthen requirements across eight key areas of risk and build on existing obligations for trustees.

Three new safeguards would require trustees to set and enforce member-level investment limits for higher-risk investments; strengthen the management of investment-related conflicts; and ensure their investment oversight capabilities and resources are commensurate with the size and complexity of their investment menus.

APRA is also proposing five changes to codify and strengthen existing expectations for investment onboarding, monitoring, remediation, valuations and accountability.

APRA said it will also continue to focus its supervisory intensity on platform trustees. As part of this, APRA is considering whether certain trustee remuneration requirements that currently apply to large trustees should be applied to complex trustees of all sizes to appropriately incentivise effective and prudent governance.

APRA deputy chair David Bradbury said sound investment governance and clear trustee accountability is fundamental to protecting members' retirement savings.

"Trustees are ultimately accountable for the investments they make available to members. Investment choice must be supported by consistently strong safeguards, rigorous oversight and timely action when risks emerge. The failures of Shield and First Guardian demonstrate the serious harm that can occur when members accumulate concentrated holdings in poor or unsuitable investment options," Bradbury said.

"Despite extensive supervisory and enforcement activity, material weaknesses in trustees' investment governance practices remain. Policy reform is needed to strengthen trustee accountability and help ensure members' interests remain at the centre of investment decisions."

The investment governance changes would apply to all trustees. However, they are expected to have the greatest impact on platform trustees, given their typically broader investment menus, more complex products and greater reliance on financial advisers and other third parties.

APRA's proposals are aligned with the measures announced by minister for financial services Daniel Mulino on August 19 to strengthen consumer protections and increase the resilience of the superannuation system.

APRA is seeking feedback on the proposed changes, including their effectiveness, proportionality and implementation impacts.

Submissions close on 3 February 2027. The standards are expected to be finalised in the first half of 2027. Subject to consultation, the new framework is expected to commence on 1 January 2028.

Ian Omar Chester pleaded guilty in the Southport District Court on September 29, following an ASIC investigation into around 18 companies used as investment and development vehicles across five Southeast Queensland property projects.

The court heard Chester falsified investor authorities to secure the release of funds, with some money transferred to accounts in his name or used to repay personal debts despite knowing investors had provided the funds for specific purposes.

The projects attracted 190 investors, including people who used their self-managed superannuation fund savings to invest.

ASIC chair Sarah Court said investors had entrusted Chester with millions of dollars for property development, but substantial amounts were diverted from their intended purpose.

"This outcome demonstrates ASIC's commitment to holding directors and company officers accountable for misusing investor funds and ensuring they face serious criminal consequences," Court said.

The court also heard Chester provided an investor with information indicating one project remained on track; despite knowing the land had already been sold to an unrelated party, leading the investor to provide funds.

In sentencing, Judge Prskalo described the offending as "sustained and deliberate dishonesty", having considered 17 victim impact statements.

The judge found investors had suffered "real harm" and noted that using funds to pay creditors of other projects was effectively equivalent to paying oneself.

Chester will be eligible to apply for parole after serving three years of his sentence.

The matter was prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions following ASIC's investigation.

ASIC obtained Federal Court asset freezing orders against Chester and associated entities in July 2021, before liquidators were appointed to wind up the companies. He was charged with multiple criminal offences in December 2023.

The regulator has published sector-specific supervisory letters covering banking, superannuation, general and life insurance, and financial markets, providing firms with greater visibility of its planned activities.

"ASIC is actively working to increase transparency, reduce unnecessary duplication and make regulatory processes easier to navigate while maintaining the quality and integrity of regulatory outcomes," ASIC chair Sarah Court said. For superannuation, ASIC will continue its multi-year review of member services while commencing new work examining trustee oversight of advice fee deductions and retirement.

In financial markets, the regulator will focus on market integrity and responsible innovation alongside efforts to support capital mobility, competitiveness and resilient market infrastructure.

The banking sector will face a review of AI use in customer-facing activities, alongside scrutiny of incentives, referrer arrangements and broker oversight.

ASIC will also examine practices among for-profit claims management firms in general insurance, including those commonly known as "disaster chasers", while its life insurance work will include funeral insurance and ongoing service issues.

Court said the supervisory letters formed part of a broader Council of Financial Regulators initiative, jointly led by ASIC and APRA, to improve regulatory coordination and data sharing.

"We have a clear mandate from government to support growth and productivity and a responsibility to ensure our actions strengthen the economy and do not unnecessarily slow it," she said.

The letters are part of the Council of Financial Regulators' Better Regulation Roadmap, which aims to give industry greater visibility of upcoming regulatory work and reduce overlap between agencies.

ASIC encouraged boards and executives to consider the priorities when planning resources and determining areas requiring greater attention.

The FSU's analysis of PPL uptake found men are now taking PPL at similar or higher rates than women in some parts of the finance sector, thanks to improvements in union negotiated enterprise agreements.

FSU said universal PPL gives both parents equal access to parental leave regardless of their caring role, and offers full wage replacement and other supports when one parent is off work.

The report documented the evolution of PPL in the Australian finance sector and examined how various employers have increased male participation in parental leave by developing a workplace culture that actively encourages fathers to take more time off work to look after their children.

For example, CBUS Super began its universal PPL policy in 2021 and men now make up the majority of workers taking parental leave, despite the workforce being broadly gender balanced.

Similarly, in 2022 before NAB introduced its universal PPL scheme, men made up just 6% of its primary parental leave users. By 2025, that figured had soared to 49%.

The research found the increasing number of fathers taking parental leave leads to more equal workplaces and reduces gender discrimination.

The FSU said the government's own gender equality strategy identifies that a more balanced use of PPL is an important measure of progress towards gender equality.

"Paid parental leave should belong to the parent, not the gender. We are seeing progress when it comes to challenging the stereotypical family dynamic where men are expected to undertake paid work while women are expected to perform unpaid domestic and caring work, but there is still a long way to go," FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano said.

"Today, a quiet revolution is taking place in Australian workplaces when it comes to paid parental leave - and the finance sector is leading the way."

Angrisano said societal expectations, workplace culture and financial pressures remain the biggest barriers to men taking more time off work after becoming fathers, but said when those barriers are addressed and dads are given genuine choice, men are choosing to spend more time raising their children.

"Universal paid parental leave is just one of many ways we can give families genuine choice and better options, and it's great to see parts of the finance sector leading by example," she said.

"The Finance Sector Union is calling on all employers to commit to a simple principle: both parents get the same paid leave, at the same rate, with no "primary carer" hoops to jump through."

The FSU is calling on employers to commit the principle that both parents get the same paid leave, at the same rate, with no "primary carer" hoops to jump through.

Evans, also known as Richard Evertz, was sentenced to one-year-and-nine-months imprisonment, to be served by way of an intensive correction order (ICO), with 400 hours of community service.

Evans was the former chief executive of the collapsed ASX-listed technology firm and was convicted for communicating inside information to another person after he pleaded guilty to the charge on April 10.

Evans admitted to sharing sensitive inside information about a funding arrangement and customer onboarding with a shareholder in January 2017.

The inside information concerned the number of customers who had been onboarded to purchase Big Un's promotional 'TV Show' package at a cost of $12,000, together with a $20 million funding arrangement with 'Finstro', a product of Sydney-based First Class Capital, which allowed customers to make the purchase on deferred payment terms, ASIC said.

Evans first appeared via his lawyer in the Downing Centre Local Court on 14 February 2023 when he was initially charged, and as a consequence of his conviction, he is automatically disqualified from managing corporations for five years.

Big Un was delisted from the ASX in 2018 and is now in liquidation.

The matter was prosecuted by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) following a referral from ASIC.

ASIC previously took action against four additional people associated with Big Un, including its former chief financial officer Andrew Corner, who was charged with insider trading but the charges were discontinued by the CDPP earlier this year.

Michael Ming Jinn Ho, a former investment analyst of Maple Brown Abbott, was sentenced after he was convicted on five counts of insider trading and one count of communicating inside information about Big Un between 2016 and 2018.

Auditors for Big Un Graham Rothesay Swan and Jakin Leong Loke were also disciplined and suspended for failing to conduct audits of Big Un in compliance with auditing standards.

Communicating inside information is an offence under section 1043A(2) of the Corporations Act 2001 and carries the maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment and/or a fine of 4500 penalty units at the time of the offending.

Additionally, if the court could determine the total value of the benefits that had been obtained by one or more persons and were reasonably attributable to the commission of the offence, the penalty would be three times that total value.

The maximum penalty increased in March 2019 to 15 years imprisonment.

The regulator has outlined its approach on its strategic objective of "getting the balance right" between effective regulation and the needs of the financial system.

The latest article details APRA's work to simplify prudential requirements, improve proportionality and reduce duplication across its regulatory framework.

APRA member Suzanne Smith said the regulator had made progress in making its requirements more targeted and efficient, while maintaining the standards needed to support a stable financial system.

The article outlines further work APRA intends to undertake as it continues to refine its prudential framework, with a focus on ensuring regulation is proportionate to the risk's faced by different entities.

APRA said the approach is intended to reduce regulatory requirements that do not materially contribute to prudential outcomes, while ensuring firms continue to meet appropriate standards of financial resilience and risk management.

The regulator's focus on regulatory efficiency comes as financial institutions continue to face a complex operating environment, with regulatory requirements spanning banking, insurance and superannuation.

APRA said its work is aimed at ensuring the prudential framework remains effective without imposing unnecessary costs or complexity on regulated entities.

Smith set out the regulator's progress to date, as well as the next steps towards a more targeted, proportionate and efficient framework.

"When APRA talks about reducing unnecessary regulatory burden, we do not mean lowering standards," said Smith.

"Our goal is to make sure regulation is targeted, proportionate and effective, so banks, insurers and superannuation funds remain safe and resilient without adding unnecessary cost or complexity."

The regulator said getting a balance right will remain an ongoing focus as it considers how prudential regulation can support productivity while maintaining financial stability.

The regulator said it is working to improve data sharing with other government agencies, with 30% more data shared with external stakeholders over the past 12 months aimed at reducing duplicate requests to industry. APRA said eight of the nine initiatives announced in its previous Corporate Plan are expected to be finalised by the end of 2026, with further work underway to simplify requirements and reduce the cumulative burden facing regulated entities.

Netwealth said it subsidiaries Netwealth Investments and Netwealth Superannuation Services have been served with a Statement of Claim in connection with the offering and monitoring of certain First Guardian investment options available through the Netwealth Superannuation Master Fund.

"The claim relates to matters previously addressed through Netwealth's court enforceable undertaking with ASIC and the compensation program completed in January 2026," Netwealth said.

"Netwealth paid compensation of approximately $101 million to affected members reflecting the value of each member's net capital invested in First Guardian."

The proceedings have been brought on behalf of Natasha Langby, one of the account holders who invested in a First Guardian option through Netwealth Superannuation Master Fund.

The class action alleges the compensation by Netwealth did not cover all losses and seeks to recover the additional funds including interest, Keily McCrosson principal Laura Keily said.

Gordan Legal has also commenced a class action against Macquarie Investment Management, alleging the investors in the collapsed Shield Master Fund have not been fully compensated for losses affecting their retirement savings.

The proceedings have been brought on behalf of representative plaintiff Rachelle Dessent and approximately 2800 account holders who invested around $321 million in superannuation in Shield through Macquarie's superannuation platform.

Gordan Legal partner James Naughton, one of the lawyers leading the proceedings, said the case concerned the impact of lost retirement savings.

"For more Australians, superannuation is their most important asset," Naughton said.

"When your retirement savings are tied up in a failed investment, you miss out on funds that could be life changing. That's what happened in this case. It's time for Macquarie to pay the full amount back."

Last year, Macquarie and Netwealth both acknowledged their due diligence failed and decided to compensate members in full for their losses.

Macquarie and Netwealth have both remediated members with $321 million and $101 million in losses respectively.

The FSU said RBA staff had voted against a proposed 9.5% pay increase over three years in July, comprising a 3.5% increase in the first year followed by 3% over the next two years.

The union has now lodged a dispute with the Fair Work Commission (FWC), seeking assistance after enterprise agreement negotiations, which began late last year, failed to produce a revised offer.

FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano said hundreds of union members had expressed their opposition to the proposal at a recent meeting and intended to vote against it again if the RBA proceeded with the same offer.

"The RBA are not respecting the collective voice of their workers by putting forward the same pay offer that was rejected in a ballot just over two months ago," Angrisano said.

"Workers made it clear in July that the 9.5% offer wasn't good enough and the bank should have acknowledged that by putting forward something more substantial. Instead, what they got was a copy and paste of the offer they already rejected."

RBA workers have most recently sought an 11% pay increase over three years, alongside an inflation protection mechanism that will trigger additional increases if inflation outpaces wages.

The union has argued the proposed increase does not adequately address cost-of-living pressures or the need to retain skilled staff at the central bank.

"The RBA should be a model employer, but instead they are treating their staff like mugs,' Angrisano said.

"RBA workers are performing a very important service to the Australian public, and they don't need this arrogant dismissal from management regarding their very real cost-of-living concern."

The RBA previously said her proposed increase recognised its employees' contributions while balancing its responsibility to the Australian Public Service and financial sector.

The bank said its research indicated the offer was fair and competitive on a like-for-like basis.

The RBA's latest annual report confirms non-managerial employees are covered by an enterprise agreement, with remuneration benchmarked against financial-sector surveys and other market data.

"Only RBA management can end this war of attrition by listening to their workers," Angrisano said.

Emre Tahsin Basar of Victoria, a former employee of BW Equities, has been charged with eight counts of dishonestly using his position as an employee to gain a financial advantage.

Basar was a desk assistant at BW Equities, who allegedly traded shares held in a client's account without authorisation between 11 and 17 February 2026. ASIC alleges the unauthorised share sales generated approximately $498,500.

The funds were then shifted to an account held in the name of Zorlu Capital, with Basar listed as the sole director, secretary and shareholder of that company, ASIC said.

Basar has since left BW Equities.

Financial Standard has reached out to BW Equities for comment.

Following his arrest, Basar was granted conditional bail, including a requirement he surrender passports and remain in Australia.

Basar appeared before the Melbourne Magistrates' Court for a filing hearing yesterday, where his bail was extended and the matter was listed for committal mention on 17 December 2026.

It is being prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.

The maximum penalty for each offence of dishonest use of position as a director, officer or employee (s184 of the Corporations Act 2001) is up to 15 years imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $765,000.

The regulator will also streamline requirements for securities and futures market participants under incoming changes to its Market Integrity Rules (MIRs).

ASIC said the reforms bolster important gatekeeper controls requiring participants to test, monitor and govern trading systems and algorithms as markets evolve and the adoption of AI increases.

ASIC commissioner Simone Constant said trading on Australia's markets is now almost entirely automated, and the adoption of AI is increasing.

"While these technologies can improve efficiency, trading algorithms can also behave in ways that are opaque, unpredictable and potentially manipulative," Constant said.

"Market participants are important gatekeepers. These reforms strengthen the controls they must have in place to test, monitor and govern trading systems and algorithms, helping protect the integrity and resilience of Australian markets as technology and AI continue to evolve."

The reforms are technology neutral and address risks arising from all trading algorithms, including those enabled by AI and machine learning, ASIC added.

The amendments follow extensive industry consultation and will take effect in 2028. After considering feedback, ASIC extended the transition period to 18 months, giving the industry additional time to implement the reforms.

The changes align Australia's rules more closely with the principles of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and other international standards.

"By aligning more closely with international standards and simplifying our guidance, we are strengthening protections while reducing unnecessary complexity," Contant added.

"The extended transition period gives industry practical time to implement the changes without compromising their objectives."

Ahead of the new rules commencing, ASIC is also consulting on updated regulatory guidance to assist industry with their transition.

ASIC is proposing to consolidate, simplify and clarify the relevant guidance, making requirements easier for securities and futures participants to interpret and apply.

The proposed changes would reduce the volume of relevant guidance for securities participants by almost 60%, supporting stronger protections through clearer, more proportionate regulation and making it easier to do business in Australia.

The transaction still requires regulatory approvals from the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) and the NZ Overseas Investment Office (OIO).

The board of oOh!media continues to unanimously recommend shareholders vote in favour of the deal, in the absence of a superior proposal.

I Squared Capital will pay up to $1.70 in cash for every oOh!media share, with an implied value for the company of $898 million.

The global infrastructure investor beat Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) and Oaktree Capital Management in a bidding war to become the new owner of oOh!media.

PEP offered to pay $1.40 per share in April. Two months later, the three bidders all upped their offers in the realm of $1.60 per share. Bain Capital at one point was also in the running but did not proceed to the next round of bidding.

Based in Sydney, oOh!media operates in Australia and New Zealand, advertising across roadside billboards, street furniture, rail and transit networks, airports, retail environments, and other public spaces.

I Squared Capital senior partner Harsh Agrawal said: "oOh!media represents the type of infrastructure platform we seek to invest in - a market-leading business with high-quality assets, long-term contractual foundations and attractive growth opportunities."

oOh!media chair Philippa Kelly said after a comprehensive and competitive process, the board is pleased to have reached a binding agreement with I Squared.

"I Squared's focus on optimising the full value of the network aligns with the strategy of our chief executive James Taylor and our experienced leadership team," Kelly said.

I Squared Capital is a global infrastructure investor dedicated to the mid-market, managing over $60 billion in assets.

The ASX CS facilities were rated as having 'observed' or 'broadly observed' many of the individual Standards, but the RBA assessed one or more of the CS facilities 'partly observed' the requirements under the Standards on Governance, Framework for Comprehensive Management of Risks, Credit Risk, and Operational Risk.

"ASX is undergoing a period of substantial organisational change in response to several long-running issues. Ensuring that the organisational reset allows ASX to discharge its unique responsibilities in Australia's financial system will take sustained commitment and focus," RBA assistant governor (financial system) Brad Jones said.

"This assessment highlights that, despite progress during the year, ASX is still not meeting the RBA's expectations in several important areas. The challenge now for ASX is to demonstrate that it can successfully deliver the transformation program without compromising the safe and reliable operation of its critical infrastructure."

The RBA acknowledged that during the year, ASX established a Transformation Portfolio intended to address longstanding shortfalls in governance, capability, culture and risk management, and said if the ASX were to meet the clear expectations the RBA set out, it would create a pathway to meet the standard expected of an operator of critical market infrastructure.

The RBA said ASX strengthened CHESS resourcing and contingency arrangements following the December 2024 batch settlement incident. As a result, the RBA upgraded ASX Clear and ASX Settlement from 'not observed' to 'partly observed' against the Operational Risk Standard.

The central bank said the upgrades recognise specific improvements to CHESS and do not indicate an assessment of broader improvement in ASX's management of operational risk.

"The ASIC Inquiry into ASX Group confirmed the existence of longstanding and deeply embedded shortcomings across ASX, consistent with themes identified in previous RBA assessments. These shortcomings include ASX compromising the resilience of its critical market infrastructure in pursuit of high shareholder returns," the RBA assessment said.

"The ASIC Inquiry concluded that barriers in ASX's governance, capability and culture required a fundamental reset. ASX subsequently committed to a package of actions, including a strategic reset of its Accelerate program. The resulting ASX Transformation Portfolio is intended to address these underlying issues. It is imperative that the transformation delivers sustained improvements in ASX's governance, capability, culture and risk management."

In response to the RBA's report, ASX chief executive Anthony Attia acknowledged more work needs to be done.

"The RBA's assessment recognises the progress ASX has made, including stronger CHESS resilience, the safe delivery of CHESS Release 1 and improved ratings across several areas of clearing and settlement. It also makes clear that there is more work to do," Attia said.

"Our focus is on delivering the improvements we have committed to through our technology and transformation initiatives, and on continuing to rebuild trust through consistent execution."

The collapse of Shield and First Guardian highlighted gaps in regulators' visibility of the sector, which costed Australians $1 billion of their retirement savings.

In the consultation, Treasury proposes to improve regulatory environment through three steps: improving baseline regulatory visibility of registered MISs through enhanced registration data; enhancing regulatory visibility of the registered MIS sector through recurrent data collection; and collecting limited and targeted data on the unregistered MIS sector.

MIS sector is large and growing with $2.9 trillion in assets under management according to the latest available data, while current data collections capture only around 47% of the registered MIS sector.

"MISs play an important role in Australia's financial system, helping Australians invest for their futures and supporting investment across the economy. The sector now comprises thousands of schemes and around $3 trillion invested in registered and unregistered MISs," minster for financial services Daniel Mulino said.

"High-quality and timely data is critical to ensuring regulators can identify emerging risks, support investor confidence and help maintain the integrity of Australia's financial markets. The consultation paper seeks feedback on proposals to address data gaps that have emerged as the sector has grown and evolved."

Treasury noted existing reporting arrangements provide ASIC with limited visibility of the registered MIS sector.

"Beyond information collected at the point of MIS registration, ASIC's visibility is largely reliant on annual financial reporting, which is retrospective in nature and does not provide sufficiently timely information to support proactive, risk-based supervision or early intervention," Treasury said.

Treasury also added improved visibility is important to get insights on private market investment strategies, including private credit, which are often operated through MIS structures.

"Better data would support regulators in understanding the scale, leverage, liquidity characteristics and interconnectedness of these activities, helping identify emerging risks and vulnerabilities at an earlier stage," Treasury said.

The government acknowledged changing the data collection requirements for MISs could pose an increased regulatory burden for industry. To tackle this, all the data collection requirement will ensure minimum compliance burden for industry and implementation costs for government.

"This consultation is focused on addressing immediate and demonstrated data gaps that limit regulatory visibility, with a view to supporting more effective supervision and reducing the risk of consumer harm," Mulino said.

The consultation builds on the Government's 2026-27 budget investment of $10.3 million in ASIC's data capabilities and reflects the importance of ensuring regulators have access to fit-for-purpose information to support effective oversight.

The consultation submissions close on October 23.

The three products - the 6 Month (Fixed and Variable) Account, 12 Month (Fixed and Variable) Account and At Call Account - sit under the Remara Cash Management Fund, a registered managed investment scheme.

ASIC hit Remara and its trustee Melbourne Securities Corporation (MSC) with the interim design distribution orders (DDO) stop orders for 21 days unless revoked earlier.

During this time, MSC will cease dealing in interests, issuing a product disclosure statement for, or providing general financial product advice to retail clients recommending an investment in, the fund's products.

The fund has $39.9 million in assets under management at the end of December 2025. It invests in short-term notes linked to a pool of Australian credit investments that are AAA-rated, and investment-grade securitised and equivalent shadow-rated instruments, which are internal credit evaluations that assess the credit risk of issuers that do not have public ratings.

They include public and private residential mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities and mortgage-backed securities. The fund may invest up to 100% of its assets in shadow-rated instruments.

The fund is not a capital protected or capital guaranteed product, ASIC said, and there is no guarantee of the investment result, return or the amount payable to the consumer.

ASIC said the fund's TMD suggested inappropriate levels of portfolio allocation as a "major component" of up to 75% and a "core component" or up to 50%.

The fund also claimed to be suitable for retail investors seeking capital preservation and contained inappropriate timeframes for retail investors to access capital.

It also has an inappropriate rating of "low risk" for the consumer's risk and return profile.

Remara describes the At Call Account, for example, as a "low-risk investment account backed by AA investment grade assets that makes investing your savings a breeze" and offers "a high-interest rate regardless of your account balance or whether you make regular investments."

Foresight Analytics has assigned this product a "very strong" investment rating and a product complexity indicator of "complex."

ASIC commissioner Simone Constant said the regulator is taking this action to protect retail investors from acquiring products that may not be suitable for their financial objectives, situation or needs.

"Where ASIC identifies concerns that products may be reaching retail investors they were not designed for, we will use our regulatory tools to act swiftly to intervene early, disrupt poor practices and protect investors from potential harm," she said.

ASIC's surveillance of private credit funds includes targeting the distribution of private credit funds to retail clients through direct and advised channels, as well as examining fees, margin structures and conflict-of-interest management in wholesale private credit funds.

ASIC commissioner Simone Constant said the regulator is now "beyond warnings" and pushed players to assess themselves against its 10 best practice principles.

Constant said ASIC expects everyone in the investment chain - fund managers, deal underwriters and trustees right through to valuers, auditors and ratings agencies - to consistently meet their responsibilities.

The recent collapse of property developer Bathla put a spotlight on the private credit sector, as investors pulled their money back from private credit exposures.

Constant noted offering regular redemptions to investors while sitting on illiquid assets creates a structural mismatch that must be resolved.

"Offering regular redemptions to investors while holding illiquid, multi-year property loans creates a fragile product design that breaks down under pressure - especially when coupled with loan "management practices" that rearrange deck chairs while the tide goes out and the boat risks running aground," she said.

She added when property projects stall and credit vehicles freeze redemptions, the damage falls squarely on the real economy.

"Contractors and trade subcontractors are left unpaid, homebuyers face the distressing prospect of losing their deposits, and superannuation members find their retirement savings locked away. The damage also falls on investors," she said.

Constant said ASIC is worried the sector's engagement might be "too little, too late" if participants don't move with urgency towards consistent good practice. She urged the sector to strengthen standards now before there is a loss of trust.

"If you are a private credit fund who hasn't assessed yourself against our 10 principles of private credit done well, ask yourselves - why not? Before your investors do," Constant said.

"The clock is ticking. Whether we see broader credit stress or not, certainly the tide is going out on poor private credit practices. The collapse of Bathla reinforces why strong governance, effective oversight, clear disclosure and accurate valuations are critical."

ASIC recently put the sector on notice, calling on funds to ensure their June 30 asset valuations are current, accurate and grounded in realistic assumptions.

"Fund managers need to review loan portfolios and apply realistic, independent valuations," Constant said.

"Carrying distressed loans at full face value to protect management fees is unacceptable."

Constant said while the Bathla collapse is deeply concerning, for ASIC it has not been surprising.

"We've been talking about private credit for a long time now - specifically about the risks stemming from inconsistent industry standards that haven't kept pace with the growth, significance, complexity and connections of the sector," Constant said.

"What we're seeing now, as some of those weaknesses are tested at scale for the first time by current conditions, are the first significant cracks - the first stress fractures - beginning to emerge."

Constant also called on institutional investors and superannuation trustees to not accept private credit managers at face value.

"Trustees have clear statutory obligations to act in their members' best financial interests. Fulfilling that duty requires genuine, look-through due diligence," she said.

"Trustees must look past headline returns, examine the underlying collateral, verify bad-debt provisioning, and independently test manager assumptions before committing member capital."

This comes after the CSLR operator announced in July that the estimated claim costs for 2026-27 were $190.3 million. As the costs exceed the annual levy cap, the CSLR legislation provides for the imposition of a special levy to fund the excess costs so that the scheme can continue paying compensation to eligible consumers.

"The government has announced a package of reforms to strengthen the long-term sustainability of the CSLR, including a new waterfall framework to allocate special levy costs," Mulino said.

"The framework seeks to allocate levy costs to the financial services sub-sectors most closely connected to the losses giving rise to compensation claims, while limiting the risk that any single sub-sector bears a levy burden that could adversely affect its financial sustainability and viability."

Mulino said the consultation paper does not revisit the decision to adopt the waterfall framework, which was announced when he unveiled sweeping reforms to the financial services industry in August.

The "rules-based special levy 'waterfall'" framework was designed to respond more predictably to large-scale, investment-related losses arising from personal financial advice misconduct where costs exceed the annual sub-sector levy caps.

This means that any funding shortfall would be allocated sequentially across up to three tiers, reflecting the relative connection of sub-sectors to the underlying losses.

The three tiers comprise the primary sub-sector or the first payer, a sub-sector whose annual levy cap has been exceeded and pays up to $20 million in special levies on top of the annual levy.

The connected sub-sector or second payer whose products and/or services are identified as being connected to the losses and pays up to $40 million per sub-sector in special levies.

The retail facing sub-sectors or final payers are the remaining sub-sectors that operate as a defined backstop if any shortfall remains and can pay up to $30 million per sub-sector in special levies.

With the waterfall system locked in, this new consultation seeks stakeholder views on the application of the framework to the 2026-27 special levy, including the operation of the first and second tiers of the waterfall and related levy allocation issues.

"As this will be the first application of the waterfall framework, stakeholder feedback will help inform both the final 2026-27 special levy determination and the future operation of the framework," Mulino said.

The consultation paper is available on the Treasury website and submissions are welcome prior to 5 October 2026.

No proceedings have yet been filed.

Netwealth received the letter from solicitors acting for a proposed representative plaintiff together with draft court documents.

"The proposed claims relate to matters previously addressed through Netwealth's court-enforceable undertaking with ASIC and the compensation program completed in January 2026," Netwealth said.

Last week, Gordan Legal commenced a class action against Macquarie Investment Management, alleging the investors in the collapsed Shield Master Fund have not been fully compensated for losses affecting their retirement savings.

The proceedings have been brought on behalf of representative plaintiff Rachelle Dessent and approximately 2800 account holders who invested around $321 million in superannuation in Shield through Macquarie's superannuation platform.

Last year, Macquarie and Netwealth both acknowledged their due diligence failed and decided to compensate members in full for their losses.

Macquarie and Netwealth have both remediated members with $321 million and $101 million in losses respectively.

The Federal Court recently confirmed Netwealth Superannuation Services and Netwealth Investments contravened the Corporations Act in relation to the First Guardian Master Fund.

APRA has been working to uplift platform trustees' investment governance under a new consultation as part of minster for financial services Daniel Mulino's reform package unveiled in August.

"Superannuation trustees are a critical safeguard for Australians' retirement savings and must undertake rigorous due diligence before making investment options available to members," Court said.

"In this case, Netwealth admitted it failed to obtain sufficient information about First Guardian and failed to undertake sufficient enquiries to properly understand the risks associated with First Guardian.

"[The] outcome sends a clear message that superannuation trustees must put members first and take proactive steps to identify and respond to investment risks before members suffer harm."

ASIC filed an ex parte application to the Federal Court after concerns were raised with an investment scheme operated by SIGA and associated with the Lake Narracan Resort development in Victoria.

According to SIGA's website, the firm has "exclusive access" to invest in the project, which completed its fundraising as at 17 December 2025.

Following the application, the court found there were "reasonable grounds" to suspect contraventions of the Corporations Act and ASIC Act, making orders on 15 September 2026 to protect the investors' funds in the scheme.

The court also made orders freezing SIGA, Gondal and Ahmad's assets, subject to limited exceptions, and required information about assets and liabilities to be provided.

Further, the court ordered that Ahmad be restrained from leaving the country if he returns to Australia.

The court's findings at this stage relate to the making of interim protective orders and Ahmad has not yet had an opportunity to respond, ASIC said.

The court will consider whether the interim orders should continue and whether additional relief, including the appointment of receivers, should be granted at a future hearing listed on September 23.

ASIC's investigation is continuing.

SIGA's website claims that as of November 2025, $1.9 million in returns have been achieved per year for some 111 investors.

The next returns announcement is scheduled for September 30, with the website stating a total investment figure of $19.1 million has been achieved thus far.

The minimum investment for the scheme was $100,000, with multiple options, up to $1 million, ranging from two- to five-year terms. Investors were advised they would receive "fixed monthly income from 12% p.a. for two, three, or five-year term + 10% capital growth", and were paid on the first day of every month.

ASIC's announcement follows a similar order to protect assets against New South Wales accountant and former solicitor Christopher Edwards, who purportedly changed the trustee for the Deckchair Trust from Great Northern Morayfield to himself after orders to wind up the trust.

Last year, the court also ordered to freeze the assets of First Mutual Private Equity (FMPE) and its sole director Gregory Raymond Cotton, with concerned of more than $50 million was at risk.

The number has more than doubled to over $130 million when the managed investment scheme was ordered to be wound up after Cotton was found to have used investors funds for personal reasons, including gambling.

The extension will take the agreement between ASIC and the FMSB through to 25 September 2029, building on an arrangement first established in September 2022 and previously extended in 2024.

The agreement provides for FMSB to consult ASIC as it develops draft standards, guidance materials and other publications, while also providing the regulator with periodic updates on the standards body's strategy.

ASIC said the relationship reflects the organisation's shared interest in maintaining and, where appropriate, improving best practice standards and operational practices among market intermediaries in Australia.

The relationship has also strengthened alongside what ASIC described as an increased Australian connection with the FMSB's board of directors.

The extension reinforces ASIC's participation in the development of global industry standards and its engagement with the FMSB on wholesale financial market practices, particularly across fixed income, currencies and commodities markets.

However, ASIC's involvement does not amount to an endorsement of FMSB publications.

ASIC also stressed that industry standards developed by FMSB do not replace obligations imposed under Australian law.

The FMSB is an industry led member-funded global standards body for wholesale financial markets, with members spanning banks, investment institutions, market infrastructure and information providers, corporates, data service providers, pension funds and interdealer brokers.

It develops standards alongside Statements of Good Practice and Spotlight Reviews aimed at promoting good practice across global wholesale markets.

The latest extension will maintain the consultation framework for a further three years unless the agreement is subsequently extended or terminated under its terms.

ASIC continued engagement comes as wholesale markets remain increasingly interconnected across jurisdictions, making coordination around market practices and standards an ongoing focus for regulators and industry bodies.

The board found Bradley failed to exercise professional scepticism and judgement as well as perform appropriate audit procedures for three managed investment schemes with Australian Fiduciaries as the responsible entity.

The three schemes included the Global Diversified Alpha Fund, Global All Seasons Fund and Global Multi-Strategy Fund.

Last year, ASIC started an investigation into Australian Fiduciaries on concerns of inadequate management of conflicts of interest, the ways investors were sold units in its schemes and how their funds were ultimately invested, as well as the lack of regular valuation checks of its schemes.

The disciplinary board found Bradley's failings were not on the margins of the audit function but went to its core.

"This is not a case of an isolated or technical breach on a single audit; it involved foundational obligations of an auditor - the obligation to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence, to exercise professional scepticism and to prepare documentation sufficient to allow an experienced auditor with no connection to the audit to understand what was done," CADB said.

"These were not technical or lesser-known requirements. They are obligations imposed on every auditor in every audit regardless of the complexity of the entity being audited."

The board further reprimanded Bradley and requires him to give certain undertakings, including future peer reviews and additional continuing professional development.

ASIC recently also cancelled the AFSL of Australian Fiduciaries, which is currently in liquidation, following its inability to pay the amount determined by the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).

"ASIC has consistently highlighted the importance of robust valuation practices, governance and audit quality, including in private markets," ASIC commissioner Kate O'Rourke said.

"Auditors provide an important line of defence for investors. When audits fail to appropriately interrogate significant assets and valuations, confidence in those markets can be undermined. This outcome sends a clear message that auditors must meet the fundamental standards expected of the profession."

ASIC believes around 600 retail investors had invested approximately $160 million into managed investment schemes run by Australian Fiduciaries since February 2020, predominantly through their self-managed super funds (SMSFs).

Australian Fiduciaries ceased distributing units in the schemes in September 2023.

The package of reforms was passed by both houses on September 14. One section of the legislation reduces the disallowance period of the CSLR special levy instruments while retaining parliamentary oversight.

Currently, ASIC does not collect special levies until the 15 sitting day disallowance period has expired, due to the risks of invoicing entities for amounts that are subsequently amended, reduced or disallowed.

This will now reduce the disallowance period for CSLR levy instruments from 15 sitting days to five sitting days in each House of Parliament.

A new estimate for the FY27 CSLR levy has increased for the financial services sector to $198.1 million, a $60.7 million increase from its initial estimate announced in November 2025.

A large portion of claims relate to Dixon Advisory, while the estimate also includes the first tranche of some 474 claims stemming from the collapses of the Shield and First Guardian master funds. These represent over $30.1 million in gross claim payments according to data provide by the CSLR.

Melinda Kee, who spearheads the advocacy group SOS Save Our Super, previously told Financial Standard : "For victims, this is a really important step. People have already waited far too long. They've lost their retirement savings, spent months or even years going through AFCA, and then after finally getting a determination in their favour, they can still be left waiting for the CSLR to have the money to pay them."

"Cutting down that process matters. When you're the person who has lost your super, another six or eight months isn't just an administrative delay; it's your life on hold. I'm really pleased minister Mulino has listened to what victims have been saying and has acted to speed this up, particularly with First Guardian and Shield claims now starting to come through."

However, Kee points to several unaddressed issues.

"The $150,000 cap remains a huge issue, and we are continuing to fight for couples in SMSFs to be recognised as the individuals who actually lost their retirement savings. But this is a good change, and when the government gets something right for victims, I think we should acknowledge that too," Kee said.

"Victims shouldn't get through one hurdle only to find another one waiting for them. We know there are a lot of claims coming. The CSLR needs to be able to flag the need for funding earlier, rather than waiting until the pressure is already there," she said.

More broadly, the bill aims to simplify regulation, particularly for businesses, and progress additional measures to support the government's "tell us once" agenda, which will cease people and businesses entering the same information more than once when interacting with government agencies.

Minister for financial services Daniel Mulino said that when Labor's agenda is fully implemented, he expects a $10.2 billion reduction in the regulatory burden every year.

The bill will also simplify business reporting requirements.

"It will simplify workplace gender equality reporting and target-setting requirements by adding a 12-month window at the end of a target cycle. Not only must they finalise their data and reporting for the current cycle; they must also select new targets for the next cycle," he said.

An indictment filed on August 28 showed Cuthbertson being charged with making false and misleading statements and engaging is dishonest conduct.

The charges relate to 10 offences contrary to section 1041E of the Corporations Act, 12 offences contrary to section 1041G of the Corporations Act and two offences contrary to 43(1) of the Crimes Act.

Last year, Cuthbertson was slapped with multiple charges for allegedly making dishonest representations to potential investors in relation to acquiring shares in his own doomed company.

On September 11, Cuthbertson was arraigned on these charges in the Federal Court and entered pleas of not guilty.

Cuthbertson was the sole director of Professional Wealth Management (PWM) and related companies, Professional Wealth Management Services (PWMS) and Professional Wealth Investments.

PWMS held an AFSL until it was cancelled by ASIC in 2023, along with banning Cuthbertson from providing any financial services.

PWM was involved in developing technology for robotic trading across a range of different instruments.

Cuthbertson allegedly made dishonest representations regarding potential future share valuations, earnings and dividends as part of purported plans to float PWM on the ASX.

ASIC alleges Cuthbertson continued to make the representation to investors after they acquired shares in PWM between the period of 11 December 2018 and 9 September 2025.

Further, it is alleged Cuthbertson attempted to pervert the course of justice by communicating with and sending draft affidavits to two prosecution witnesses.

The maximum penalty for each offence contrary to section 1041E of the Corporations Act is 10 years' imprisonment for conduct which occurred before 13 March 2019, and 15 years' imprisonment for conduct which occurred on or after 13 March 2019.

The maximum penalty for each offence contrary to section 1041G of the Corporations Act is 15 years' imprisonment.

From 1 July 2027, the bill introduces a 50% CGT discount for investors who back eligible innovative Australian start-up companies.

For an entity to be eligible to apply the CGT discount on an Innovative Business CGT Concession (IBCC) asset, the entity must have chosen to apply the discount rather than cost-base indexation. The entity must also not be a company, complying superannuation entity or foreign resident, as these entities have different CGT arrangements.

The new law defines an IBCC company as one that develops a "genuinely innovative product, process service or method," is incorporated for less than 15 years, based in Australia and is not controlled by another company that has been incorporated for 15 or more years.

It must not be listed and must have annual turnover below $50 million.

The Tech Council of Australia (TCA) said the most significant change is the removal of the lifetime cap. "TCA has strongly advocated for changes to the cap limit so that founders remain properly incentivised to take on the risk of starting high-growth tech companies.

"Employees will also have stronger incentives to join tech startups in their early years. Investors are now incentivised to back more early-stage tech startups and will retain concessional treatment across multiple investments," TCA said.

In June, Treasurer Jim Chalmers proposed a $10 million turnover threshold for small businesses to qualify for the 50% active asset CGT reduction, up from $2 million.

"Key changes to the IBCC, particularly the removal of the lifetime cap, will make founding, working for and investing in early-stage startups more attractive in Australia. The risk of building and backing these companies has been acknowledged and will be rewarded," BCA said.

"While this is a substantial win, we recognise that the retention of the $50 million revenue cap will exclude many late-stage companies, and the investors who back them, from concessions for new investments."

The reforms sit under the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 5) Bill 2026: Innovative Business CGT Concession. It includes details about the better targeting the R&D Tax Incentive from 1 July 2028.

Treasury estimates that every dollar of tax offset generates about 20% more business R&D and will increase R&D by young firms by $400 million per year.

"These reforms will support the continued growth of Australia's start-up and venture capital ecosystem which is good for innovation, good for productivity and good for the economy," Treasurer Chalmers said.

"They mean early investors in innovative start-ups that begin with a low or zero cost base still receive a significant discount on a future capital gain."

Treasury will also release a draft legislative instrument to help existing companies to self-assess whether they satisfy the innovation requirements to qualify as an innovative start-up.

It is also about supporting small businesses and start-ups, including in the biotechnology and medical technology sectors, Chalmers said, noting that these reforms will deliver more innovation, encourage more entrepreneurship and deliver certainty for investors.

The consultation period ends on September 28.

Andrew Hanley and Shane Monte Silva received their verdicts after applying to the tribunal to review their respective five-year bans.

Hanley was an authorised representative of InterPrac between 28 March 2023 and 15 August 2024 and worked within the Venture Egg advice model.

The tribunal found that Hanley failed to act in the best interests of at least six clients and provided inappropriate advice. He advised four clients to invest in First Guardian, while advising two other clients to switch to Venture Egg model portfolios.

"Hanley had little or no interaction with the relevant clients or input into the preparation of the advice. He generally had only minutes to review the advice and assess its adequacy before joining calls to present it to clients," ASIC said.

Separately, Monte Silva was an authorised representative of FSGA from 24 May 2023 to 10 March 2025. He was found to have advised five clients to roll their super into platforms and invest in Shield and First Guardian between July and August 2023.

FSGA is currently in liquidation. The Australian Financial Complaints Authority recently finalised its lead decision for the business, finding that the firm provided inappropriate advice that led to financial losses for its clients.

In Monte Silva's case, he "had no involvement" in gathering key client information, conducted limited assessments of his clients' circumstances and often saw Statements of Advice (SoAs) only shortly before presenting them to clients.

ASIC said he relied on information prepared by others rather than personally identifying clients' objectives, financial circumstances and needs.

It was also found that his advice process formed part of a high-volume model and involved templated SoAs. Three clients with markedly different personal circumstances were advised to invest almost all their super in First Guardian, indicating the advice was not based on each client's needs.

In three cases, Monte Silva provided advice to a client that supposedly reflected his own advice, but the SoA was in the name of another person.

Both advisers' bans have since taken effect, with Monte Silva's commencing on 10 December 2025 and Hanley's commencing in March 2026.

Commenting, ASIC commissioner Alan Kirkland said the decisions reinforce that financial advisers remain personally responsible for the advice they provide to clients.

"Financial advisers cannot outsource their legal obligations to unlicensed marketers, lead generators or paraplanners," Kirkland said.

"Advisers must personally understand their clients' circumstances, critically assess the information gathered and investigate the products they recommend. Simply presenting advice prepared through a high-volume, templated process does not meet those obligations.

"Superannuation is for many people one of their most valuable assets. Its role is to support their quality of life in retirement. Advisers recommending that clients switch their retirement savings must exercise particular care and ensure the advice is genuinely in the client's best interests."

He said ASIC will continue to target practices that inappropriately or unnecessarily encourage consumers to switch their super.

The framework is part of the government's retirement phase reforms, intended to improve understanding of how trustees support members in navigating retirement.

APRA kicked off the consultation early in the year to effectively collect and report data from superannuation funds as part of its work under the Retirement Income Covenant.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers released the reforms to help put as much focus on the retirement phase as there is in the accumulation phase.

APRA's role is to collect and publish the data every year from 2027 to produce and deliver insights on fund offerings and member outcomes and to help track progress with retirement phase uplift.

Most stakeholders encouraged APRA to consider whether the level of granularity in the proposed collection was proportionate to the policy objectives of the retirement reporting framework.

In response, APRA has substantially reduced reporting granularity, while preserving the information necessary to support the government's indicators.

"APRA considers the revised approach better balances transparency, comparability and proportionality, and is more closely aligned to the intended purpose of the Retirement Reporting Framework," APRA said.

Following engagement with stakeholders, APRA also said it has made a range of enhancements across the proposed reporting standards that reduce reporting complexity, improve data quality and consistency, and remain aligned with the government's policy objectives.

Stakeholders sought more examples and guidance. APRA responded by producing a draft Reporting Practice Guide to help with reporting requirements and how common retirement scenarios should be treated.

APRA deputy chair David Bradbury said the package had been shaped by extensive stakeholder engagement and would promote transparency across the retirement phase.

"Greater transparency will help trustees understand how members are navigating retirement and identify opportunities to improve the support they provide. It will also give policymakers and the community a clearer picture of how the superannuation system is meeting members' needs," Bradbury said.

In this final consultation, APRA is taking submissions until October 9.

After finalising reporting standards in 2026, APRA will begin collecting data in late 2027, with the first framework indicators and metrics to be published in 2028.

The prudential regulator said it will engage with industry on publication design through 2027 to ensure it is meaningful, contextual and accessible.

Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Accountability for Tax Adviser Misconduct and other Measures) Bill 2026 covers numerous new reforms that included strengthening the integrity of the tax profession and refining mergers rules.

For foreign residents invested in Australia's land and natural resources, the new law broadens and clarifies the definition of Taxable Australian Real Property (TARP) and introduces a definition of real property into the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 that forms part of the definition of TARP.

Two of these categories are the subject of these amendments: Taxable Australian real property (TARP) and indirect Australian real property interests (IARPIs). IARPIs are defined as membership interests in entities, the underlying value of which is principally derived from TARP.

TARP currently includes mining, quarrying and prospecting rights. It may soon include water entitlements in relation to a water resource situated in Australia, and an option or right to acquire a CGT asset over TARP assets.

"The changes to the foreign resident CGT regime bring Australia's tax laws into closer alignment with the OECD Model Rules for the taxation of foreign residents and ensure foreign residents pay tax on assets including for infrastructure and other assets closely connected to Australian land," Treasurer Jim Chalmers said.

The bill contains other key reforms, such as tougher penalties for misconduct, providing certainty and clarity for investors, supporting renewable energy, improving the new merger system, and supporting charitable giving by expanding deductible gift recipient status and reforming giving funds.

The new law also extends support for foreign investment in renewable energy infrastructure, extending the timeframe for the transitional 50% CGT discount for certain foreign residents who dispose of Australian renewable energy assets to 30 June 2040, which was previously 30 June 2030.

Furthermore, it addresses controversial issues that stemmed from the PwC tax leaks scandal, and recommendations from an earlier review of the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB), through amendments to the Tax Agent Services Act.

This includes a stronger sanctions framework including criminal penalties for unregistered tax preparers, new civil penalties for breaches of the Code of Professional Conduct, and increased penalty amounts, as well as new powers for the Tax Practitioners Board.

"This is about strengthening the tax system overall, delivering more, cleaner energy and more certainty for investors," Chalmers said.

"The successful passage of this legislation is part of this government's ambitious reform agenda to deliver a fairer, more sustainable tax system, boost productivity and resilience and make the budget more sustainable."

The committee revealed Equity Trustees' internal response to increasing members holding limit in a high-growth fund from 50% to 95% was three words: "Easy peasy, done."

Senator Paul Scarr questioned Equity Trustees: "How does that possibly discharge your obligations as a superannuation trustee to increase the limit of members investment into a high-growth fund from 50% to 95% and the only analysis we can see is 'thanks easy peasy'."

Equity Trustees managing director Michael O'Brien (Photo: Michael O'Brien at the Senate hearing today) responded by noting it as an "unfortunate turn of phrase" but added the trustee has a well-developed investment governance framework, and it was followed on the specific occasion.

ASIC currently has two proceedings against Equity Trustee alleging failures in care, skill and diligence concerning the decision to allow members to invest in the First Guardian Master Fund and Shield Master Fund.

Both collapses have led close to $143 million in losses to members in funds under Equity Trustees' trusteeship.

Equity Trustees continues to defend its position noting it was responsible entities, advisers and third-party research houses responsible for the failure, and has denied paying back members on the losses.

Macquarie and Netwealth on the other hand have paid members losses incurred due to the failures.

Equity Trustees recently decided to exit from the trusteeship business. It noted a "shifting regulatory environment, higher operating costs and the evolving risk profile" as reasons to exit the business.

However, O'Brien confirmed while Equity Trustees is divesting from the trustee business, it will continue to be liable for any claims brought against it.

"It is exiting the business because it believes its capital can be better utilised in its other businesses and not in superannuation, because of the growth prospects for the business and the risk that is entailed in that business primarily," O'Brien said.

Equity Trustees will retain its super trustee subsidiary, Equity Trustees Superannuation Limited (ETSL), and remain on the hook for any claims brought against it.

Senator Deborah O'Neill also questioned Equity Trustees' "checklist model of onboarding", calling out Equity Trustees to outsource governance responsibility to other entities while reaping "easy money".

"The two managed investment schemes are issued by the responsible entities. We rely on the information that they provide. They're licensed entities regulated by ASIC. We relied on that information," O'Brien responded.

"We were an investor and a beneficiary in those schemes. We were obviously misled, and that money was not invested according to the product disclosure statements. Our process isn't a checklist process."

Replay of the hearing can be found here. 

The regulator has recently released new guidance for professional year candidates and supervisors while warning financial advice licensees over reference checking, professional indemnity insurance and poor-quality superannuation advice.

The regulator's latest financial advice update highlights several areas of focus for Australian financial services licensees and advisers, including new guidance for candidates undertaking their professional year.

ASIC Information Sheet 297 sets out common questions on professional year acquirements including record keeping, plans, tasks and logbooks. Candidates are also reminded to select a licensee and supervisor capable of providing appropriate supervision and resources throughout the supervised work and training period.

ASIC has also reminded licensees of their obligations to conduct reference checks before employing or authorising prospective financial advisers. The regulator said recent breach reporting data indicated some AFS licensees were appointing advisers without completing required checks.

The ASIC reference checking and information sharing protocol has applied to all references since March 2025, with non-compliance potentially attracting civil penalties or administrative action.

The regulator has also identified professional indemnity insurance as an area requiring attention after analysing annual FS70 fillings from AFS licensees.

ASIC identified 10 licensees that reported holding less than $2 million in PI cover. In nine cases, the licensees had incorrectly understated the insurance they held and subsequently corrected their fillings. In the remaining case, the licensee held inadequate cover and began winding up after ASIC intervention.

ASIC said licensees should ensure PI insurance is adequate for their business and that annual financial statements are lodged accurately and on time.

The update also flags ongoing concerns around personal advice involving superannuation contributions and rollovers.

ASIC said poor advice in this area had resulted in clients exceeding contribution or transfer balance caps and incurring additional tax. Advisers are expected to verify existing super arrangements, prior contributions and transfers, available cap space and relevant tax consequences before recommending strategies.

The regulator said AFS licensees should ensure advisers are trained and supervised appropriately, with ASIC continuing to review poor advice through surveillance, reportable situations and other intelligence.

NSW accountant and former solicitor Christopher Edwards purportedly changed the trustee for the Deckchair Trust from Great Northern Morayfield to himself on 23 July 2026, following orders to wind up the 12 companies - including Great Northern Morayfield - associated with himself.

Edwards operated as an authorised representative under National Tax and Accountants' Association's Australian financial services licence (AFSL) between 2016 and 2021.

The initial orders included the appointment of provisional liquidators as interim receivers and managers of the assets held by Great Northern Morayfield as trustee for the Deckchair Trust.

After becoming aware of Edwards' movement, ASIC filed an urgent application seeking further orders, including against Edwards personally.

The new orders include the confirmation of provisional liquidators for the Deckchair Trust and Edwards to join the proceedings as a party, disclosing the relevant books and records.

ASIC's joinder of Edwards as a party to the proceeding is presently limited to obtaining orders with respect to the Deckchair Trust, ASIC said, stating the investigation remains ongoing.

On 25 March 2026, ASIC commenced winding up proceedings in the NSW Supreme Court for 12 companies, including Ironbark Holdings Australia; Great Northern Developments; GND Construction Management; Great Northern Bundaberg; Great Northern Investments; Great Northern Morayfield; Great Northern Phoenix Group; Great Northern Properties; Great Northern Victoria; Ironbark Energy; Knightsbridge Realty; and Richmond Corporation, all of which Edwards is an associate member with.

ASIC banned Edwards in September 2025 for 10 years after identifying he provided financial advice without an AFSL for more than four years. He was subsequently disqualified as a self-managed super fund auditor from 28 May 2026.

The government has accepted all recommendations directed to it from an independent review of the ERS, while supporting recommendations directed to ASIC and industry. The changes are intended to reduce unnecessary regulatory burden while maintaining consumer protection, market integrity and financial sustainability.

The ERS was introduced in 2020, allowing individuals and businesses to test certain innovative financial and credit services without holding an AFSL or credit licence.

The independent review, led by Maha El Dimachki, examined the design, operation and effectiveness of the regime. Its final report was handed down in May and tabled in parliament in July.

Speaking to Financial Standard, FinTech Australia chief executive officer Rehan D'Almeida commented on the likely impact of the changes on Australia's fintech sector, including its capacity to innovate and attract investment.

"The targeted sandboxes will improve how fast fintechs are able to experiment, iterate and launch in market," said D'Almeida.

"The test will now be implementation. Australia needs timely legislation and guidance, proportionate regulation, and programs that allow startups and established firms to test, commercialise and scale new services with confidence."

Under the government's response, the current ERS legislation and regulations will be repealed through a future legislation prioritisation process, allowing ASIC to develop a replacement framework using its existing relief powers.

Treasury said the renewed sandbox should be better integrated with ASIC's licensing, supervision and innovation functions, providing participants with clearer regulatory pathways while helping the regulator build knowledge of emerging technologies and business models.

On the significance of the reforms for Australia's fintech ecosystem and the need for any further measures, D'Almeida commented on its positive impact yet acknowledged that Australia has a long way to go.

"This is a positive step and enabling more innovation through thematic sandboxes will help fintechs to iterate and go-to-market faster," D'Almeida said.

"However, this remains a challenging economic and policy environment, and there is much more that needs to be done to incentivise investors and founders to stay and build their companies in Australia. Beyond the sandbox review, there are a large amount of reforms that need to be actioned including payments, digital assets, CDR, scams, AML/CTF and CCR. We have a long way to go."

It also supports ASIC considering thematic sandboxes integrating specific sectors and technologies, including potential digital financial market infrastructure arrangements.

As part of the reforms, Treasury will establish a public-private financial innovation committee comprising regulators, industry representatives and independent members.

The committee will help identify and prioritise high-value areas for innovation, consider the case thematic sandboxes and improve coordination between government, regulators and industry.

Treasury has also agreed to release a broader financial innovation strategy, aimed at setting Australia's ambition for innovation and coordinating work across areas including payments modernisation, Digital ID, tokenisation, the Consumer Data Right and responsible AI adoption.

The reforms form part of the government's broader productivity and financial innovation agenda.

The reform is part of the Regulatory Reform Omnibus Bill 2026, which includes a proposed amendment to the Corporations Act that will reduce the disallowance period of the CSLR special levy instruments while retaining parliamentary oversight.

"This will allow the CSLR special levy for the 2026-27 levy period to be made and take effect quicker, enabling the CSLR operator to recommence paying compensation to victims of financial misconduct in a timely manner," an explanatory memorandum reads.

Under the current framework, ASIC does not collect special levies until the 15 sitting day disallowance period has expired, due to the risks of invoicing entities for amounts that are subsequently amended, reduced or disallowed.

The amendment changes the disallowance period for CSLR levy instruments from 15 sitting days to five sitting days in each House of Parliament.

One of the key issues is that currently, the period between the CSLR notifying the minister of a funding shortfall and receipt of funds can average more than eight months. This ultimately contributes to delays in compensation payments to eligible consumers, including those who have already been determined to be eligible for compensation.

"The reduction in the disallowance period aligns with the treatment of levy instruments under the ASIC Industry Funding Model. As ASIC also administers the CSLR levies, this removes the different disallowance treatments between levies," Treasury said.

Melinda Kee, who spearheads the advocacy group SOS Save Our Super, welcomed the change, saying if the government can cut months out of the process and get people their compensation sooner, then it should.

"My concern has always been the gaps between AFCA, the CSLR and the funding. Victims shouldn't get through one hurdle only to find another one waiting for them. We know there are a lot of claims coming. The CSLR needs to be able to flag the need for funding earlier, rather than waiting until the pressure is already there," she said.

"At the end of the day, these are people's retirement savings. Every month we can take out of the waiting process is a month that matters."

Financial services minister Daniel Mulino introduced the Regulatory Reform Omnibus Bill 2026 in May, which aims to simplify regulation, particularly for businesses, progress additional measures to support the government's "tell us once" agenda, which will cease people and businesses entering the same information more than once when interacting with government agencies.

In total, the bill amends 26 acts, repeals two acts and improve the operations of 19 government agencies.

This week, the bill moved to a second reading debate.

Greens senator David Shoebridge said his party would not oppose the bill.

"On a broader level, the various elements in the bill proposing a tell-us-once model, so that information does not have to be repeatedly handed to agencies, has some sense in it, of course being mindful that people's privacy and protections for their data are always central to the Greens' concerns on regulatory reform," he said.

Kee commented: "Minister Mulino and his team deserve credit. They're working through some difficult problems, and we are starting to see practical changes that will actually help people."

"I'd love to see all sides of politics support this. There are thousands of Australians caught up in this mess. Getting compensation to them sooner should be something everyone can agree on. We've come a long way in a few weeks. Now I'm keen to see the roadmap for what comes next and keep that momentum going."

In April 2026, Treasury consulted on Options to improve the ongoing sustainability of the CSLR, including a proposal to reduce the disallowance period for CSLR levy instruments from 15 sitting days to five sitting days.

Treasury said it received strong stakeholder support for the proposal on the basis that it would improve the timeliness of levy collection and compensation payments, as well as improve certainty for industry.

Treasury on August 19 announced its intention to align the disallowance arrangements applying to CSLR levy instruments with those that apply to ASIC industry funding levy instruments.

Crole was a director of InterPrac Financial Planning from 20 August 2004 to 1 December 2025.

From1 February 2004 to 17 July 2026, he was a responsible manager of InterPrac and a director of Sequoia from 18 November 2016 to 22 July 2026.

He departed the company abruptly in July, stating that the decision was made "in the best interests of the company and its stakeholders." He remains a substantial shareholder in Sequoia.

Under his guidance, InterPrac's former authorised representatives, such as Venture Egg and Rhys Reilly advised "thousands" of clients to invest their super into the First Guardian and Shield master funds. Both funds have now collapsed, with over $1.2 billion, and counting, of retirement funds that was put at risk.

ASIC has since commenced legal proceedings against InterPrac over its failures to act in clients' best interests for recommending those products.

ASIC found that Crole "was aware" of serious concerns regarding the representatives' financial advice model but failed to adequately respond to them.

"Crole was not a fit and proper person, was not competent, and lacked the diligence and judgement required to perform one or more functions as an officer of an entity carrying on a financial services business," ASIC said.

"Crole did not take adequate care in the management and oversight of InterPrac's approved product list, which included First Guardian and Shield."

As a result, Crole was banned from performing as a director or responsible manager, or any function involved in carrying on a financial services business for 10 years, effective September 4.

Crole has the right to apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal for a review of the decision.

Following these events, Sequoia attempted to offload the business in question for $50,000 to Conquest Investment Partners earlier this year but was ultimately called off to accommodate ASIC's condition for withdrawing its legal proceedings regarding the questionable transaction.

However, Sequoia remains open to selling InterPrac, recently appointing an independent adviser to explore a potential sale process.

A 30% minimum tax on certain discretionary trusts will apply and be payable by the trustee.

Treasury is seeking feedback on several changes that include how the minimum tax will work, what types of trusts and income should be excluded and how a fixed trust should be defined.

The treatment of income tax-exempt entities and excess franking credits, as well as roll-over relief is also up for discussion.

Under the proposed changes, non-corporate beneficiaries will be able to claim a non-refundable tax offset for the tax payable by the trustee in respect of their share of trust income. The tax is designed to better align the tax rate on trust income with the tax rates paid by workers.

The new tax will not apply to fixed trusts, widely held trusts, attribution managed investment trust (AMITs), superannuation entities or charitable trusts.

That is because those types of trusts are either not discretionary trusts, the explanatory memorandum states, or are subject to separate regulatory and taxation arrangements, which the minimum tax is not intended to change.

There will be a new option for discretionary trusts to be exempt from the minimum tax if they elect to make fixed distributions to pre-nominated beneficiaries, as an alternative to roll-over relief. The election would not require a restructure and is not expected to result in state and territory stamp duties.

The minimum tax will also not apply to certain types of income. Primary production income, certain income relating to vulnerable minors, certain income relating to charitable and not-for-profit beneficiaries, amounts to which non-resident withholding tax applies, and income from testamentary trusts established for genuine testamentary purposes will be excluded.

Treasury is taking submissions until September 18.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the draft legislation takes into account stakeholder feedback received in response to the consultation paper released in July.

That consultation focused on expanded rollover relief to support restructuring, the treatment of excess franking credits and ways to collect the minimum tax.

Discretionary trusts allow lower tax rates to be achieved through 'income splitting', whereby trustees of discretionary trusts allocate all or part of their income to beneficiaries who have a lower marginal tax rate, arrangements that are not available to most workers.

"These arrangements can result in high-income and high-wealth taxpayers who structure their affairs using discretionary trusts, paying less tax relative to salary and wage earners on similar income levels, or paying similar tax relative to salary and wage earners on lower income levels. This reduces the progressivity of the tax system," Chalmers said.

Going forward, the trustee of a discretionary trust will continue to determine the share of trust income that beneficiaries are entitled to each year. Beneficiaries will continue to be responsible for including trust distributions in their income tax returns and assessed on their share of the trust's taxable net income, in proportion to their entitlement to the income of the trust.

"However, the trustee will now pay a minimum 30% tax on the taxable income of the trust. Amounts already taxed in the hands of the trustee will generally not be affected by the tax. If no beneficiary is made entitled to trust income, the highest marginal rate plus the Medicare levy will continue to generally apply to the income in the hands of the trustee," he said.

Treasury estimates that less than 10% of the country's 2.7 million active small businesses will be affected by these reforms in any given year.

Announced by minister for financial services Daniel Mulino, the Financial Innovation Strategy will repeal and replace the existing legislative regulatory sandbox framework to make it more flexible and will work through ASIC's existing relief powers.

The new Financial Innovation Committee will include government, regulators and industry and will work to identify and work through barriers.

The government will also seek to develop targeted sandboxes that focus on AI, tokenised assets, digital money and digital financial market infrastructure.

Mulino said regulators will consider opportunities to develop targeted sandboxes in priority areas such as AI-enabled financial services and digital financial market infrastructure.

"Innovation requires more than just the adoption of new technology. It needs the development of new products, services, business models and ways of working that improve outcomes for consumers, businesses and the broader economy," Mulino said.

"That will require clear strategic direction and sustained coordination between government, regulators and industry."

Mulino said the new committee will complement existing coordination mechanisms and support a coordinated whole-of-government approach to financial innovation.

"We are also modernising the Enhanced Regulatory Sandbox framework after the ERS review found the existing model has not delivered the level of use or flexibility industry needs," he said.

"The sandbox model allows industry to test innovative products and services with appropriate safeguards, while giving regulators practical insight into new technologies, barriers and future policy needs.

"We will replace the existing framework with a more flexible model that strengthens pathways from testing to adoption."

The proposed changes would remove key function requirements for the FAR regulator rules and no longer require accountable entities to include information about accountable persons' direct reports in accountability maps.

The regulators said the changes are intended to reduce administrative burden while retaining the information needed to oversee the regime, with the number of required updates to accountability maps expected to be halved.

APRA deputy chair Therese McCarthy Hockey said the consultation formed part of the prudential regulator's broader effort to reduce unnecessary regulatory burden without compromising financial safety and stability.

"These proposed changes maintain strong accountability settings while minimising reporting requirements and supporting efficiency and productivity. They will allow entities to spend less time on administration and more time running their businesses," McCarthy Hockey said.

ASIC commissioner Alan Kirkland said the proposals reflected the corporate regulator's ongoing focus on simplifying regulatory processes.

"We continue to explore opportunities to streamline the way entities deal with us in the areas we regulate," Kirkland said.

He said the changes would reduce reporting requirements while preserving the accountability standards expected across the financial services sector.

"The proposed changes to FAR reporting will simplify reporting without undermining the strong accountability standards that Australians expect from their banks, superannuation funds and insurers," Kirkland said.

The FAR, which established accountability obligations for senior executives and financial institutions, applies across the banking, insurance and superannuation sectors.

The consultation comes as regulators continue to balance stronger individual accountability with the administrative requirements imposed on regulated entities.

Subject to feedback received during the consultation, ASIC and APRA intend to finalise the proposed changes by the end of 2026, with the reforms to take effect from 2027.

Retail investor issues and governance matters continued to dominate reports received by ASIC, which together accounted for over four in five of all reports.

Common concerns in the reports included unlicensed financial services, governance failures, insolvency concerns and failures to provide company books and records to liquidators.

Retail investor issues included credit issues, general licence obligations, unregistered managed investment schemes, unlicensed provision of financial services conduct, and other conduct related to advice, insurance, and misleading and deceptive or unconscionable behaviour.

Around 1950 of the complaints were of unregistered managed investment scheme operations or firms providing financial services without an Australian financial services licence.

On the other hand, corporations and corporate governance included fraud allegations, corporate governance issues, registered liquidator conduct, insolvency matters, shareholder issues, reporting issues and failure to provide books and records on company activities and property to registered liquidators.

ASIC chair Sarah Court said: "The data ASIC receives provides critical insights into the trending issues facing consumers and businesses, helping to inform our enforcement priorities. We continue to welcome tip-offs from the public."

One hundred seventy of the reports directly assisted ASIC with existing surveillance or investigation matters, while 351 reports raised issues that were linked to other reports and were considered together.

ASIC noted reports from the public have helped take swift action against emerging pump-and-dump scams, which are becoming increasingly sophisticated using fake celebrity endorsements, causing substantial harm to Australian investors.

"ASIC encourages members of the public to continue reporting suspected misconduct to help identify patterns and trends," Court said.

"Reports from the public remain a vital source of intelligence for ASIC, that help us identify consumer harm and to target resources where they will have the greatest deterrence and consumer benefit."

The government passed the Scams Prevention Framework Bill in 2025 following an industry-wide consultation, which places obligations on banks, telecommunications providers and digital platforms to protect consumers from scams.

AFCA was subsequently appointed the authorised external dispute resolution (EDR) scheme for scam-related complaints under the SPF across the sectors from 31 March 2027.

As this is an expansion of AFCA's current role, AFCA has to amend its rules to establish a new jurisdiction for SPF complaints, stating the consultation will help shape the rules that govern the new SPF EDR scheme.

The AFCA Scheme Rules will be organised into separate divisions, comprising new rules that will apply specifically to SPF complaints, which will be named 'Scam Rules' for the purpose of the consultation, while existing rules for financial services complaints are labelled as 'Financial Firm Rules'.

The Scam Rules are organised into four key sections, including the complaint resolution process for SPF complaints; the types of complaints that are excluded; the monetary limits that apply to SPF complaints; and the definitions relevant to SPF complaints - this particular section includes a "complete set" of definitions that apply to the Scam Rules.

AFCA noted all material changes to the AFCA Scheme Rules require approval from its board and the corporate regulator ASIC, who will also consult with other SPF regulators before approving any of AFCA's final changes.

The proposed rules are also comprised of rules that mirror, or are similar to, the Financial Firm Rules, while new rules implemented will help facilitate the operation of the SPF EDR scheme.

"In developing the proposed Scam Rules, we have considered the accessibility, efficiency, effectiveness, fairness and timeliness of the SPF EDR scheme," AFCA said.

"To achieve this, we are consulting on the Scam Rules that will govern EDR first.

"Development of operational guidelines, which have historically been used by AFCA to set out more detail about how we apply our rules, will take place in early 2027. The formulation of these guidelines will also be informed by feedback from this consultation."

AFCA will also conduct a webinar on September 3 to discuss the consultation with its members, related entities, consumers and consumer representatives, and other stakeholders.

The consultation has opened and will close on 28 September 2026.

This comes after Macquarie chair Glenn Stevens was grilled at the August 14 parliamentary hearing over the bank's reliance on Allens, KPMG's own lawyers, to review the embattled auditor's conduct. The investment giant was formally inquiring into KPMG's capability to deliver its audit, as well as the conduct of the audit itself.

Senator Paul Scarr called Allens review of KPMG for Macquarie "hopelessly conflicted".

Stevens was also questioned over Macquarie audit committee chair Michelle Hinchliffe, a KPMG veteran, and her involvement in the tender process.

Macquarie said the decision follows continued scrutiny of KPMG Australia's audit practice, including information exposed by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services.

"It also follows Macquarie's formal enquiries of KPMG to consider its capacity to deliver the audit, as well as the nature and impact of ongoing issues at KPMG Australia," Macquarie said.

"The boards currently hold concerns in respect of KPMG Australia and its audit practice in two of the key criteria considered in the audit tender completed in late 2025, namely capacity to deliver the audit given several key members of the proposed KPMG Australia audit team have departed; and culture, including a culture that transparently discloses issues."

KPMG said while this was a disappointing outcome, it respects the decision taken by Macquarie.

KPMG chief executive John Sams said: "[The] announcement by Macquarie is a clear reminder that the consequences of our past failings are real. Rebuilding trust will require sustained action, transparency and time. I am committed to leading this change with honesty, transparency and urgency.

"I recognise that this news will be difficult for many of our people, particularly those who worked on the tender and transition, but we will rebuild confidence by facing the issues directly, learning from them and delivering lasting change."

The embattled global consulting firm has been under scrutiny for misusing confidential client information to pursue audit tenders, including those of Westpac and Dexus. The details were brought forward by a whistleblower, and KPMG has admitted its investigation into the claims fell short.

AFCA today announced APT Strategy, which is in liquidation, is once again a member for a period of 12 months.

This follows the Supreme Court of Queensland directing ASIC to re-register APT Strategy on July 2.

APT Strategy provided advice in relation to managed investment schemes (MISs).

ASIC estimates 600 retail investors invested about $160 million into MISs run by Australian Fiduciaries since February 2020, predominantly via their self-managed super funds (SMSFs).

In July, ASIC cancelled the licence of Australian Fiduciaries, following its failure to pay an AFCA determination.

Australian Fiduciaries engaged Compare Your Super to approach prospective investors about investing in its registered schemes.

Compare Your Super was an authorised representative of Australian Fiduciaries from 20 January 2020 until 27 January 2021.

Between 27 January 2021 until 14 September 2023, Compare Your Super then became an authorised representative of APT Strategy.

ASIC has previously urged affected investors to consider making a complaint to AFCA about the financial advice provided by Australian Fiduciaries via Compare Your Super as its authorised representative at that time. Those who received advice from APT Strategy by way of Compare Your Super should also do the same.

In reinstating APT Strategy as a member, AFCA also urged impacted consumers to submit complaints against APT Strategy.

"Now that APT Strategy's AFCA membership has been reinstated for 12 months, consumers who have concerns about financial advice provided by the firm can bring their complaints to AFCA whilst the membership is current," AFCA lead ombudsman for investments and advice Shail Singh said.

"We recognise the impact these circumstances have had on this group of consumers."

Empathising with former Australian Fiduciary and APT Strategy clients, Melinda Kee, a victim of the failed First Guardian Master Fund commented: "This has been a long and complicated process for Australian Fiduciaries investors, and I'm genuinely pleased that they finally have a pathway forward."

Kee also leads the advocacy group, SOS Save Our Super, which has been helping many investors whose nest eggs have been put at risk by financial misconduct, providing information and practical resources on how to navigate the complaints process, as well as stay on top of regulatory developments, court proceedings and government reforms.

Kee said she worked closely with Callun Blurton from FD Legal throughout this process "because we both believed these investors deserved the opportunity to have their complaints heard."

"What initially looked like a dead end has become a genuine avenue for investors to pursue. I'd also like to acknowledge ASIC and AFCA for the important roles they have played in helping make this outcome possible," she said.

Both the FSC Standard No. 30: Private Markets Best Practice Principles (mandatory) and the FSC Guidance Note No. 57: Private Markets Best Practice Guidance (voluntary) will come into effect on 1 July 2027.

The standard sets expectations across governance and accountability, valuations, liquidity and leverage, conflicts of interest, fee and income transparency and investor disclosure.

Once effective, FSC members under the criteria will be required to consistently apply valuation policies that include independence and effect challenges, and execute a clear re-valuation when material market events occur.

Specifically for private credit managers, the FSC expects them to use clear, consistent terminology for key indicators such as arrears, defaults, impairments, watchlist exposure and loan-to-value ratios for investors.

They also need to be equipped with "good governance" of credit risks and escalate governance around "deteriorating" credit exposures on a timely basis.

Meanwhile, the supporting guidance note is a voluntary measure for members but provides practical considerations and examples where managers can meet the expectations in the standard.

"It is intended to support implementation that reflects the specific circumstances of a private markets manager's private markets activities, including the nature, scale, complexity, investor base, structure, risk profile, role, level of control and information rights of the private markets manager," the guidance said.

However, it does not create additional mandatory obligations. Private markets managers may adopt different approaches to those described in the guidance note where those approaches are consistent with the objectives of FSC Standard 30.

These examples include clear explanations on lower valuation frequency from a quarterly frequency, using defined triggers to reassess valuations following unexpected events, model definitions for key private credit metrics.

The document also noted good practice involves transparent reporting of manager remuneration and advise how to better apply independent oversight across related-party lending, cross-fund transactions, asset transfers and special purpose vehicle arrangements where conflict risk is elevated.

FSC chief executive Blake Briggs said the new standard should not be treated a 'set-and-forget' exercise and the body will continually review the sector as supervisory concerns arise.

"The FSC's new standard and guidance note for private markets and private credit set out a clear framework for good industry practice, supporting greater consistency, transparency and confidence in the sector," Briggs said.

"The FSC recognises that rapid growth in the private markets sector has created inconsistent practices, which creates risk for consumers, however industry adherence to the Standard will reduce these risks.

"The FSC's industry standard will be mandatory for funds management and superannuation members but will also be a publicly available resource for all market participations."

He encouraged all fund managers and super funds to apply the measures in their businesses as soon as applicable, and for ratings agencies to consider the principles when they are rating investment and private credit products.

"The FSC acknowledges ASIC's ongoing supervisory work and its collaborative approach to uplifting private credit sector practices," Briggs continued.

"The FSC and our members have responded in good faith to ASIC's call for enhanced industry standards, to help address the legitimate concerns ASIC and the Reserve Bank of Australia have towards the private credit market."

The standard and guidance were developed in collaboration with leading domestic and global private market operators and super funds, where the standard will be mandatory for FSC's fund management and super fund members.

Challenger, an FSC member, noted as the private markets continue to grow, industry practices will need to keep pace.

"We've worked closely with the FSC on the development of its private markets standard and guidance note and believe greater consistency around governance, valuation and disclosure will strengthen confidence in the sector," Challenger executive general manager Victor Rodriguez said.

"Clear standards provide investors with greater transparency and confidence in how their capital is managed, while supporting the sustainable development of private markets over the long term."

In a submission to the capital gains tax (CGT) and negative gearing Tranche 2 consultation, the association said it was pleased the proposed new sections directly resolve the widow's tax issue.

It first raised concerns in a submission to the Senate Economics Committee in June, warning proposed negative gearing and CGT reforms could inadvertently penalise surviving spouses and divorcees who inherited or received a share of a residential property after the reforms' announcement date.

Under the original framework, a surviving spouse acquiring an interest in a jointly owned property following the death of their partner could have lost access to negative gearing benefits and concessional CGT treatment on the inherited portion of the property. Similar concerns applied to individuals receiving property through a divorce settlement.

The issue gained attention during a Senate Economics Committee hearing in June, where Senator David Pocock highlighted the potential implications for affected Australians.

The FAAA said the concern has now been addressed through amendments incorporated into the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 2) Bill 2026, which passed both houses of parliament on August 19.

Under the new provisions, a surviving spouse who acquires their deceased partner's interest, either as a surviving joint tenant or as a beneficiary of an estate, will be able to retain the deceased's negative gearing treatment and eligibility for the new residential dwelling provisions.

The amendments also preserve access to the 50% CGT discount.

"We are pleased that the proposed new sections directly resolve the widow's tax issue," the FAAA said, and thanked the government for engaging with concerns raised in its June submission and acting swiftly to implement a solution.

The FAAA also welcomed the broader application of the changes, which extend to other co-owners of property, including joint tenants and tenants in common who receive ownership interests through inheritance.

It said the reforms represent a meaningful outcome for families facing bereavement or the end of a relationship.

Elsewhere, the FAAA recommends the government allow new residential dwelling treatment for genuinely separate, income-producing secondary dwellings, even where not separately titled, for granny flats and secondary dwellings

For CGT adjustments, the FAAA said the detailed explanation of the new law spans a chain of gross-up and removal mechanisms, each requiring capital gains to be recalculated to strip out indexation or discount benefits obtained at a different level of a trust or Attribution Managed Investment Trusts (AMIT) structure before being re-applied at the level of an underlying individual member.

It therefore asks the government to commit to comprehensive taxation guidance, worked examples and calculation tools before this measure commences, and to consider a longer lead time before application, to allow the wealth management industry and the tax and advice professions to build the necessary systems and processes.

Speaking at an industry event, Constant said retirement is seen as an isolated challenge, and that framing remains part of the problem.

"Good retirement outcomes require more than just good retirement products. Every part of your business should deliver for members," she said.

"That includes how you deal with complaints, how you communicate with members, and, crucially, how you use the information available to you to improve your service."

She noted member data can be used to shape clearer, more targeted retirement communications. Critically, she added, trustees must use their data to identify risks early and safeguard members' retirement savings and their confidence.

"Because from what we're seeing, and despite all of our warnings, some trustees are still using their data like they were stuck in the 90s - relying on almost entirely manual indicators to monitor potential harm," Constant warned.

She went a step further to draw parallels between the issues at ASX and super trustees.

"Both have had failings that have impacted the public's confidence in their ability to provide critical services," Constant said.

"And in both cases, these failings are the result of whole-of-business issues, which took years to develop and will take time, investment and most importantly, governance and leadership commitment - to resolve."

She pointed to a recent ASIC report which highlighted persistent failures of platform trustees to protect retirement savings, including gaps in the monitoring of harmful advice fee deductions, unusual fees and investment patterns, and high-risk superannuation switching activity.

While she notes some performers are considerably better and with a few "new joiners" to the better performers club, the poorer performers are even worse than they were two years ago.

"The findings were decidedly mixed. Once again, we see leaders and laggards, and once again we see repetition of prior findings, which is downright disappointing," she said.

"But of course, a system characterised by outliers is not good enough - we need to see all platform trustees consistently meeting expectations."

She noted in poorer performers, ASIC saw a concerning lack of strategic monitoring.

"Oversight was, at times, almost completely manual, and there were clear gaps in both controls - like fee caps set far too high to meaningfully protect savings from fee erosion - and also in action," Constant said.

She gave the example of one trustee that took more than a year to take any meaningful action after placing an advice licensee on a watchlist for suspicious activity by one of their representatives.

During that time, another representative of that licensee submitted applications to rollover superannuation balances using fake signatures from a deceased adviser.

"That's alarming - especially in the wake of the Shield and First Guardian collapses. Oversight isn't optional - it's your job as a trustee and it's what Australians expect," she said.

She urged trustees to put in place systems and processes which will help them to learn from complaints.

"In an ongoing review to be released later this year, we found that close to a quarter of trustees do not undertake regular complaints analysis to detect systemic issues, despite it being an enforceable requirement," Constant said.

She said ASIC wants to see more of trustees doing internal analysis and benchmarking complaints so that they can properly measure their performance.

"And they shouldn't stop at complaints. We want to see trustees benchmarking every aspect of their business. Member services are whole-of-business challenge," she noted.

She added it is not about being slightly better than your peers, it is about whether the system itself is good enough.

"But we see firms focusing on relative positioning, when the real issue is baseline capability," Constant said.

"If trustees are benchmarking only against domestic peers, they're already behind. Competition is global and cross-industry - you need to benchmark against best practice."

ASIC commenced proceedings against Netwealth after accepting a court enforceable undertaking requiring it to compensate affected members 100% of the amounts they invested in First Guardian, less any amounts withdrawn.

More than $100 million was paid to over 1000 affected investors in January, after Netwealth confirmed it would compensate victims in December 2025.

ASIC did not seek a pecuniary penalty in the matter, owing to the circumstances of the case, including the timely payment of compensation to affected members, the regulator said.

Based on documents supplied by the parties, Justice McEvoy declared that Netwealth "failed to obtain and assess sufficient information about First Guardian,"

The judge also noted Netwealth failed to make sufficient independent enquiries to understand the risk of the managed investment scheme and did not inform members of the potential illiquidity of it.

ASIC chair Sarah Court said the case represents the important role platform trustees play and shouldn't be overlooked.

It also follows APRA commencing to uplift platform trustees' investment governance under a new consultation as part of minster for financial services Daniel Mulino's reform package unveiled this week.

"Superannuation trustees are a critical safeguard for Australians' retirement savings and must undertake rigorous due diligence before making investment options available to members," Court said.

"In this case, Netwealth admitted it failed to obtain sufficient information about First Guardian and failed to undertake sufficient enquiries to properly understand the risks associated with First Guardian.

"[The] outcome sends a clear message that superannuation trustees must put members first and take proactive steps to identify and respond to investment risks before members suffer harm."

ASIC has 14 cases underway against 31 defendants and is investigating alleged misconduct relating to the Shield and First Guardian Master Funds.

The First Guardian Diversified Class and Growth Class were made available to adviser-led members through Netwealth's Super Accelerator Plus product from March 2021, ASIC noted and were closed to new investments in December 2022.

Between March 2021 and December 2022, approximately $128.5 million was invested across the two First Guardian classes by 1303 members of the Netwealth Superannuation Master Fund.

Industry superannuation funds have welcomed financial advice reforms announced yesterday, which would create a New Class of Adviser and let funds deliver low-cost advice to members in-house.

Treasury said the new adviser regime would initially apply only to APRA-regulated superannuation and life insurance entities. The New Class of Advisers will be prohibited from receiving commissions, bonuses and volume-based payments, which Treasury said are features of sales-driven advice models.

Super Members Council (SMC) chief executive Misha Schubert said the reforms expand Australians' access to advice via their own super fund, helping members get the guidance they need, when they need it.

"Super members ask every day, 'do I have enough to retire on?' It's a simple question that they expect their fund to be able to answer. The challenge is making that available at scale," Schubert said.

"This announcement gives Australians access to simple, trusted intra-fund advice in retirement, delivered by their own super fund, to help them make better decisions and reduce the likelihood they are driven into the hands of risky schemes and questionable actors."

Financial Services Council (FSC) chief executive Blake Briggs, however, said the government must ensure a clear distinction between full professional advice, which tells a consumer what they should do in their personal circumstances, from information and guidance, which outlines what an individual can do.

"We look forward to working with the government on getting the details right," Briggs said.

"Australians' financial wellbeing will be enhanced by having more access to information from financial institutions where their circumstances and queries are simple, through to full financial advice from licensed professional advisors where they are looking for advice on what to do with their full financial affairs."

Rest general manager of public policy and advocacy Enrico Burgio said many members of the $113 billion super fund might find it hard to be able to get financial advice if it wasn't provided through super.

"The Delivering Better Financial Outcomes (DBFO) reforms, if passed, would bring us one step closer to making simple financial advice available to more Australians through their super fund," Burgio said.

"Combined with the introduction of the New Class of Adviser regime for super funds, these reforms will allow super funds to substantially expand the financial advice and guidance they can provide to members, including the type of advice offered."

Burgio added the ability to more deeply engage members at key decision points and life stages through personalised 'nudges' is imperative.

These reforms come at a time when 2.5 million Australians are set to retire over the next decade and look for personalised advice.

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) data shows industry funds recorded net outflows of $15.8 billion in the four quarters to March 2026, as members increasingly shifted money to platforms, which offer greater choice in how super is invested.

HESTA chief executive said a members need the most guidance when they transition to retirement and the fund continues to advocate for a simpler and more modern super system, which includes allowing funds to transition members to retirement products suited to their circumstances.

"We believe a system that engages members early, through their own trusted fund, is central to preventing harm before it occurs," Blakey said.

"That's why we're also pleased to see a commitment to progress reforms that will support more Australians getting simple, safe and cost-effective financial advice. We look forward to engaging with government on this critical work."

AustralianSuper chief executive Paul Schroder said the proposed reforms would get the balance right on consumer protections and advice as Australians retire over the next decade.

"Members deserve the right help to make good financial decisions with one of their most important assets. People need more help and they need that help to be safe and reliable," Schroder said.

"We welcome minister Mulino's proposals to protect people's retirement savings and look forward to the legislation coming to Parliament."

Australian Retirement Trust chief executive Kathy Vincent added the reforms making advice more accessible should be legislated as soon as possible.

"Australians deserve access to retirement advice that is right for them," Vincent said.

"These changes will contribute to a more confident and dignified retirement for millions of Australians. We look forward to seeing the detail of the draft legislation so industry stakeholders can have confidence about the path forward that is in the interests of fund members."

Burgio highlighted it is important the reforms progress hand in hand alongside strengthening consumer protections and governance requirements across the system.

"Recent failures have caused significant financial harm to Australians and highlighted that existing consumer protections have not kept pace with evolving business models and sales practices, including harmful lead-generation models," Burgio added.

Meantime, the SMSF Association (SMSFA) said while it "broadly supports" the reforms, some measures would be easier to implement than others.

"While a number of reforms reflect what is generally considered best practice, such as requiring SMSFs to hold uniquely identifiable bank accounts, experience shows there can be practical challenges in implementation," the SMSFA said.

"It is therefore imperative that these issues are worked through methodically with the sector and other key stakeholders before legislation is drafted, to ensure the measures can operate as intended in practice."

SMSFA chief executive Peter Burgess added he was pleased the government listened to the sectors concerns and will not proceed with cooling-off periods for rollovers to SMSFs, advice fee caps or an opt-in/opt-out CSLR special levy model for SMSFs.

"These were all options that were previously on the table in the lead-up to [the] final package of reforms," Burgess said.

"While we understand the rationale for introducing mandatory SMSF trustee education for prospective SMSF trustees, we welcome the acknowledgement of the work the association is already undertaking in this area to support confident, informed SMSF trustees."

Announced as part of assistant treasurer Daniel Mulino's package of reforms, APRA will be given greater oversight to ensure trustees have the financial capacity to meet their obligations under the proposed compensation scheme.

This is in lockstep with Mulino empowering ASIC to direct super trustees to commence remediation where an investment option fails and there is "reasonable suspicion" a trustee has breached its obligations. In cases where a trustee is found to have failed its duties, members would be entitled to compensation for their full capital losses.

APRA will consult on the details of the framework once the government finalises the relevant legislation.

APRA said the government's proposed compensation scheme will complement its broader work to strengthen investment governance in super and member protection by reducing the likelihood of trustee failures and improving outcomes when failures occur.

This plays into the prudential regulator's multi-year efforts to lift investment governance standards across the superannuation industry - particularly within the platform trustee segment.

More pressing is APRA's upcoming consultation, scheduled for next month, which will shake up platforms' investment governance standards in a bid to reduce the likelihood of member harm.

"The proposals directly address many of the shortcomings that were identified by APRA in its 2025 review of industry practices covering around 95% of platform assets under management," APRA said.

Up for discussion is the strengthening of requirements across eight areas covering the full investment management lifecycle.

This includes trustees ensuring their investment management capability commensurate to the complexity of their investment menus.

Addressing weaknesses in onboarding, monitoring and offboarding practices, and material conflicts, as well as improving member-level diversification will also be on the agenda.

Ultimately, APRA said it wants better oversight and accountability from platform trustees in the wake of the Shield and First Guardian Master Fund collapses, in which one or both sat on several platforms such as Equity Trustees and Netwealth.

While the investment governance reforms would apply to all trustees, APRA said the impact will be "most significant for platform trustees, given their investment menus are typically broader, platform products are more complex, and financial advisers can play a larger role in selecting and recommending investment options."

APRA foresees the proposals to have little impact on trustees with strong investment governance and simpler business models.

APRA chair John Lonsdale said: "The government's proposed compensation scheme will reinforce APRA's proposals by creating a stronger incentive for trustees to remediate poor investment governance."

"APRA's investment governance reforms aim to raise standards across the sector and reduce the likelihood of member harm from poor investment options. Together, these key reforms strengthen member protection significantly."

It said while these conditions play an important role in protecting Australia's national interest, it is important to ensure they remain necessary, effective and fit for purpose over time.

Treasury is seeking feedback from investors and stakeholders on conditions that may be ineffective, duplicate other regulatory requirements and need modernising.

"Some historical conditions may no longer align with contemporary circumstances, creating ineffective or duplicative compliance obligations," Treasury said.

"This review will help ensure the foreign investment framework remains efficient while maintaining appropriate safeguards."

In the 2026-27 Budget, the government announced a package of reforms to streamline Australia's foreign investment framework, in a bid to further improve productivity performance, including through reduced regulatory burden.

"The reforms are designed to ensure Australia's regulatory settings attract and enable low-risk investment while providing stronger, more flexible tools to manage national interest and national security risks," Treasury said.

"They reflect strong investor and other stakeholder support for reforms that reduce duplicative obligations while strengthening some clear and predictable regulation."

The government applies a range of conditions to mitigate risks, including those relating to taxation, national security, economic and community impacts and other matters relevant to the national interest.

These include tax conditions, board and governance arrangements, land development requirements, obligations relating to sensitive land or facilities, the management of sensitive data and infrastructure, and reporting requirements.

The review will initially focus on tax conditions, with other conditions to be considered following consultation.

"The review does not alter existing approval obligations and is not intended to reconsider the national interest or national security risks that informed the original approval decisions," Treasury said.

"Accordingly, submissions should focus on the effectiveness, enforceability and ongoing relevance of specific conditions, rather than merits of the underlying risk assessment or original decision to impose those conditions."

The consultation closes on September 15.

"In a nutshell, what we need clarity on: was there any misuse, not only of our information, but anybody else's, in the pursuit of the Macquarie tender in particular?" Stevens said.

"We've asked for that work to be externally reviewed, and that will be done by Allens, and the scope of that work has been agreed in detail with Macquarie, so that we can have confidence that the scope was appropriate."

In response, parliamentary committee member Paul Scarr questioned why Macquarie did not engage an independent external reviewer rather than relying on Allens, given the law firm acts for KPMG, which stands to earn "millions and millions of dollars" from the Macquarie audit.

Macquarie Group chief financial officer Frank Kwok defended the decision, telling the committee both the timing and the scope of the review had been agreed directly with Macquarie.

"The scope of the review has been shared and, more importantly, agreed with us in discussions with Allens directly," he said.

He pointed to the breadth of the exercise, noting Allens had indicated it was reviewing more than 130,000 e-communications at KPMG, which he said demonstrated "the scope and breadth" of what has been requested.

The review, he said, was intended to establish "whether there has been any impropriety in relation to their pursuit of our audit tender," adding Macquarie was satisfied the scope was correct and was awaiting the review's findings.

The embattled global consulting firm has been under scrutiny for misusing confidential client information to pursue audit tenders, including those of Westpac and Dexus. The details were brought forward by a whistleblower, and KPMG has admitted its investigation into the claims fell short.

KPMG said the parliamentary inquiry has shone the light on its failings, including unethical behaviour by senior people, and the human impact of its handling of the whistleblower.

ASFA chief executive Mary Delahuntry said the objective evidence shows super has strengthened Australians' retirement incomes while reducing reliance on the Age Pension.

"Super has meant that even as our population ages, the government's Age Pension bill is going down instead of up," Delahunty said.

However, speaking on the ABC Radio National, Senator Andrew Bragg disputed the benefits of compulsory super, describing it as "one of the biggest public policy failures since federation".

"It hasn't helped the budget, and it has not really helped many people get off the pension," Bragg said.

Australia's public pension spending currently sits at 2.3% of GDP, down from 2.8% in 1994-95 despite an aging population, while the OECD average is around 9%.

Treasury projects Age Pension spending will fall further to 2% of GDP over the next four decades, even as the population aged 65 and over grows substantially.

The proportion of Australians ages 65 and over receiving the Age Pension has fallen 12% since 2012, while the retirement-age population has increased by almost 50%.

Delahunty said the decline in pension reliance has also contribute to lower levels of retiree poverty, with relative poverty among Australians aged over 65 falling form about 30% in 2001 to 11% in 2022.

"A lower reliance on the Age Pension is a massive public policy success," she said.

Bragg said he remained sceptical about the system's ability to deliver for Australians but stopped short of committing to a reduction in the super guarantee.

"I would be clear that I'm sceptical about the system's capacity to deliver for the nation, but that's something that I need to discuss with colleagues," he said.

Compulsory super has also generated more than $1 trillion in household savings that would not otherwise exist, with Treasury estimating it has lifted national saving by around 3% of GDP.

ASFA said around half of the system's $4.4 trillion is invested locally, including about $118 billion in Australian infrastructure.

Delahunty argued the full benefits of the system were yet to be realised, given the Superannuation Guarantee only reached 12% in July 2025.

"The Superannuation Guarantee only reached 12% in July last year. Almost nobody retiring today has had a full working life at that rate," she said.

ASFA modelling estimates a 30-year-old on the median wage with $30,000 in super today could retire with about $610,000, suggesting further gains in retirement adequacy and reduced Age Pension reliance remain ahead.

Yepbit claims to operate globally, including in Australia, but does not hold an Australian financial services licence (AFSL) and is not authorised to provide financial advice or services in Australia.

The corporate regulator said Yepbit has falsely claimed ASIC froze investor funds while it complied with regulatory requirements or audits.

"ASIC has not taken steps to prevent return of funds held by Yepbit," the regulator said, describing the claims as false and designed to deflect requests for refunds.

ASIC has issued warnings about several Yepbit websites through its Investor Alert List and has used its website takedown powers to remove multiple websites purportedly operated by the platform.

The regulator said consumers should be particularly cautious of investment opportunities that cannot be independently verified through trusted sources or encourage investors to bypass licensed professionals.

ASIC also noted Yepbit is not registered as Virtual Asset Service Provider listed on AUSTRAC's Virtual Asset Service Provider Register (VASPR).

The warning comes as ASIC continues to target investment scams and unlicensed operators, with the regulator urging consumers to independently verify licencing and contact details rather than relying on claims made by investment platforms.

ASIC said consumers should check its professional registers to confirm whether an entity holds an AFSL and whether the licence permits the activities being promoted.

It also warned scammers may falsely claim a company registration or Australian Company Number means an entity is licenced by ASIC.

The regulator advised investors who suspect they have been scammed to contact their bank immediately, particularly if they have transferred money or disclosed personal or financial information.

ASIC also cautioned investors to be alert to recovery scams, where criminals offer to retrieve lost funds in exchange for further payments.

Consumers can report suspected scams to Scamwatch, while ASIC Moneysmart Investor have been identified as unlicenced or potentially fraudulent.

Siddiqui, the former sole director of Equitable Financial Solutions, was sentenced in the District Court of NSW on 6 August 2026 after pleading guilty to two counts of dishonestly using his position as a director.

He will serve a non-parole period of three years and three months.

Between May and October 2026, Siddiqui transferred approximately $1.75 million from Equitable Financial Solutions' accounts to his personal account before moving the funds into overseas accounts.

At the time, he was aware the company was in a dire financial position, with Australian Financial Complaints Authority determinations against the business exceeding $1 million and clients awaiting refunds totalling about $11.3 million.

One client had also commenced legal proceedings to recover a $3 million investment.

Equitable Financial Solutions was subsequently placed into liquidation on 26 November 2019 and was found to owe more than $20 million to creditors by February 2020, including its clients.

ASIC said liquidators considered the company likely became insolvent around July 2016.

ASIC chair Sarah Court said directors were required to act in the best interests of their companies and that Siddiqui had abused that responsibility.

"Mr Siddiqui abused that trust by dishonestly misappropriating company funds for his own benefit," Court said.

"This sentence reflects the seriousness of that conduct and serves as a warning that ASIC will take action against directors who abuse their responsibilities for personal gain."

Equitable Financial Solutions and other companies controlled by Siddiqui provided Sharia compliant investments and lending products to members of the Australian Muslim Community.

In sentencing, Judge Anderson noted the offending involved multiple occasions of intentional dishonest use of Siddiqui's position as director.

His Honor also highlighted the importance of general deterrence in sentencing white-collar offenders. The offences carry a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment under section 184(2)(a) of the Corporations Act 2001.