Current projects and consultations

This page provides an overview of ASIC’s priorities and projects for the current financial year, current consultations, and information on recent reforms. For information on our strategic priorities and actions over the next four years, see ASIC’s Corporate Plan.

Strategic priorities and projects

Our strategic priorities are:

• Product design and distribution – Reduce the risk of harm to consumers of financial, investment, credit and credit-like products caused by poor product design, distribution and marketing, especially by driving compliance with the design and distribution obligations.
• Sustainable finance – Support market integrity and efficiency through supervision and enforcement of current governance and disclosure standards to reduce harms from greenwashing, while engaging closely on climate related financial disclosure requirements.
• Retirement outcomes – Protect consumers, especially as they plan and make decisions for retirement, with a focus on superannuation products, managed investments and financial advice.
• Technology risks – Focus on the impacts of technology in financial markets and services, drive cyber and operational resilience practices, including within companies and financial market infrastructure, and act to address digitally enabled misconduct.

Our core strategic projects that support the delivery of our strategic priorities are:

• Scams
• Sustainable finance practices
• Crypto-assets
• Design and distribution obligations (DDO)
• Cyber and operational resilience
• Digital technology and data

Superannuation projects

In 2023-24, ASIC’s project work in superannuation will focus on:

• Reducing harm caused by poor performance and harmful distribution of choice products – Review trustees’ distribution practices in relation to choice superannuation products, and the role of financial advisers and their licensees in the distribution of underperforming choice products.
• Improving the delivery of member services by superannuation funds – Review industry practices and compliance with laws in relation to trustee administration and contact centres. We will take action, including enforcement action, against conduct that is misleading or otherwise results in unfair treatment of consumers.
• Monitoring implementation of superannuation fund financial reporting and audit requirements – Ensure trustees properly implement new obligations that require them to file fund financial statements and audit reports with ASIC, and publish those documents on the fund website.

More broadly we will also continue our focus on the implementation of the retirement income covenant, sustainable finance disclosure practices, issues of concern in relation to insurance in superannuation and acting against inadequate internal dispute resolution arrangements.

Some of ASIC’s cross-sector projects for 2023-24 are also particularly relevant for superannuation trustees including:

• Implementing the Financial Accountability Regime (FAR) – We will continue working closely with APRA to implement the FAR, noting that FAR will apply to the superannuation industry in March 2025. 
• Ensuring the objectives of the reportable situations regime are met – We will continue working with stakeholders to implement solutions that will improve the consistency and quality of reporting practices. We plan to conduct a targeted surveillance of licensees with low numbers of reportable situations and, where appropriate, take enforcement action. 
• Deterring cold calling superannuation switching business models – We will take action where appropriate, including enforcement action, to protect consumers from cold calling practices that induce inappropriate superannuation switching and result in the erosion of members’ superannuation balances. 

Current consultations

CS 7 Proposed update to superannuation forecasts relief instrument

ASIC proposes to update the rate of nominal wage inflation in ASIC (Superannuation Calculators and Retirement Estimates) Instrument 2022/603, and Regulatory Guide 276 Superannuation forecasts: Calculators and retirement estimates (RG 276) in view of Treasury’s revised long-term wage growth forecasts.

Industry is invited to provide feedback on ASIC's proposal. Comments close 2 August 2024.

Visit the Consultations page to view ASIC consultation papers currently open for public comment.