Financial Markets
Treasury consults on draft Banking Regulations 2026
On 23 October 2026, Treasury opened consultation on the draft Banking Regulations 2026 (Draft Banking Regulations), and amendments to the Banking Act 1959 (Banking Act) and Financial Accountability Regime Act 2023 (FAR Act).
The Draft Banking Regulations remake the Banking Regulations 2016, which are set to expire on 1 April 2027. The new regulations increase the covered bond issuance limit for authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) to 12 percent of an ADI's assets, from the current 8 percent, a change recommended by the Council of Financial Regulators' Review into Small and Medium-sized Banks.
Additionally, Treasury proposes to amend the Banking Act by:
- amending section 69B to increase the withdrawal limit to $30,000 (from $15,000); and,
- allowing payment of court filing fees when applying for:
- probate of a deceased person's will; and,
- letters of administration of a deceased person's estate.
Finally, Treasury proposes to amend the FAR Act by increasing the enhanced notification threshold for banks from $20 billion to $30 billion.
Consultation on the Draft Banking Regulations closes on 30 October 2026, whilst consultation on the Banking Act and FAR Act amendments closes on 20 November 2026.
See: Media Release, Draft Banking Regulations Consultation Page, Banking Act and FAR Act Consultation Page
ASIC updates guidance on AFCA oversight for the Scams Prevention Framework
On 27 October 2026, ASIC issued draft updates to Regulatory Guide 267 Oversight of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (RG 267) to reflect AFCA's expanded jurisdiction under the Scams Prevention Framework (SPF) when it commences on 31 March 2027.
ASIC has made updates to RG 267 to simplify the guidance and ensure that it remains current when the SPF commences on 31 March 2027. The SPF will strengthen consumer protections across multiple sectors, including banking, telecommunications and digital platforms.
ASIC's proposed updates to RG 267 include:
- removing content that is now covered by AFCA's ASIC-approved scheme rules for complaints resolution; and
- retaining references to the scheme rules that are key to AFCA's operation and its ability to meet its obligations under the law.
These updates preserve ASIC's core oversight expectations and aim to more clearly distinguish between legislative requirements, AFCA's scheme rules and ASIC's expectations.
Feedback on the draft RG 267 is requested by 5pm AEDT on 24 November 2026.
See: Media Release, Consultation Page, RG 267
ASIC issues statement on prediction markets
On 30 October 2026, ASIC issued a statement on its approach to prediction markets. In summary, ASIC considers prediction markets for retail clients are not in the public interest.
In the statement, ASIC contends that prediction markets:
- are highly speculative and generally involve an all-or-nothing outcome based on the occurrence of a particular event, similar to binary options;
- often have nothing to do with investment; and,
- create market integrity risks, including the misuse of confidential information, market manipulation and disputes over how outcomes are determined.
ASIC questioned whether prediction market contracts are appropriately described as investment products. ASIC also confirmed that licence obligations continue to apply to AFS licensees that facilitate access to offshore prediction markets.
See: Media Release
ASIC consults on financial resource requirements for market operators
On 30 October 2026, ASIC released draft updates to Regulatory Guide 172 Financial markets: Domestic and overseas operators (RG 172), to provide clearer guidance on financial resource requirements for licensed market operators in Australia. The updates aim to support market resilience by clarifying the amounts and types of financial resources required to support resilience, and how to interpret ASIC's guidance.
ASIC's proposed updates to RG 172 include clarifying:
- the form and availability of financial resources;
- additional scenario and stress testing for significant market venues; and
- reporting and monitoring requirements.
Feedback is requested by 5pm AEDT on 4 December 2026.
See: Media Release, Consultation Page, RG 172
Licensing
ASIC proposes to continue tax advice exemption for licensees
On 28 October 2026, ASIC proposed to extend the existing tax advice exemption in ASIC Corporations (Recognised Accountants: Exempt Services) Instrument 2016/1151 (Instrument 2016/1151) for a further five years.
The exemption in Instrument 2016/1151 allows licensees and their representatives to provide limited advice on the tax implications of financial products that fall outside the scope of their AFSL authorisations. ASIC proposes to remake the instrument with minor updates, without changing its effect. It is due to expire on 1 April 2027.
Feedback on this proposal is requested by 5pm AEDT on 25 November 2026.
See: Media Release, Consultation Page, Instrument 2016/1151
ASIC consults on implementation of new statutory FFSP exemptions
On 6 November 2026, ASIC released Consultation CS 68, to support the transition to the new statutory exemptions for foreign financial services providers (FFSP), which commence on 8 April 2027. These new exemptions are the professional investor exemption, the comparable regulator exemption and the market maker exemption.
ASIC has proposed extending the current FFSP exemptions (the sufficient equivalence exemption and limited connection exemption), which are currently due to expire on 31 March 2027, by a further 6 months to now expire on 30 September 2027.
ASIC is also consulting on a revised Regulatory Guide 176 Foreign financial services providers (RG 176), and proposed new conditional class relief so that FFSPs relying on the professional investor exemption can use Australian-based individuals to support "follow the sun" global operating models when servicing institutional investors.
See: Media Release, Consultation Page
Superannuation
APRA releases response to consultation on updates to superannuation reporting standards
On 27 October 2026, APRA responded to the submissions received on updating certain reporting standards to facilitate their migration from APRA's legacy data collection system, Direct to APRA (D2A), to APRA's current data system, APRA Connect.
The amended reporting standards include:
- Reporting Standard SRS 533.0 Asset Allocation (SRS 533.0);
- Reporting Standard SRS 610.2 Membership Profile (SRS 610.2); and
- updating associated definitions in Reporting Standard SRS 101.0 Definitions for Superannuation Data Collections (SRS 101.0)
APRA also proposes to revoke Reporting Standard SRS 001.0 Profile and Structure (Baseline) (SRS 001.0).
See: Media Release, Letter
ASIC urges superannuation trustees to analyse complaints data
On 2 November 2026, ASIC released Report 844 Lessons to be learned: How trustees use insights from superannuation complaints (REP 844), which details how superannuation trustees are failing to treat complaints as an early warning signal for service failures affecting members.
ASIC's inquiry in REP 844 found that close to one quarter of trustees across all industries were not analysing complaints data to identify systemic issues on a regular basis. Analysing complaints data is an enforceable requirement under ASIC's internal dispute resolution (IDR) standards. ASIC views a low level of issue identification among trustees as a potential red flag, particularly where trustees have high complaint volumes or large member bases.
ASIC emphasises that maintaining effective IDR arrangements, including identifying and responding to systemic issues from complaints, is an enforceable obligation. Superannuation trustees should review the findings and recommended actions in REP 844 and implement timely improvements to ensure that they comply with their obligations.
See: Media Release, REP 844
Authors: Jonathan Gordon, Partner; Corey McHattan, Partner; Samantha Carroll, Partner; Hong-Viet Nguyen, Partner and Max Williams, Graduate.
