The commission is focusing on addressing financial misconduct and protecting consumers
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has outlined its enforcement priorities for 2025, focusing on addressing financial misconduct and protecting consumers amid heightened economic pressures.
The announcement comes as rising cost-of-living challenges increase the risk of exploitation, particularly for vulnerable Australians.
ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court emphasised the importance of these priorities in tackling emerging threats, stating, “Our 2025 enforcement priorities reflect the increased risks consumers are facing that are being driven by cost of living pressures. These priorities are about protecting Australians from financial harm and targeting the people who try to take advantage of them.”
ASIC plans to target misconduct related to superannuation savings, with specific attention on unscrupulous property investment schemes that exploit retirement funds. The regulator will also focus on business models designed to bypass consumer credit protections and address unlawful practices in debt management and collection. Failures by insurers to deal fairly and in good faith with customers will also remain a key focus.
To maintain market integrity, ASIC has created a specialised team to combat insider trading and will continue its efforts to address governance and compliance failures by large institutions. Additional areas of focus include misleading environmental, social, and governance (ESG) claims (known as greenwashing), auditor misconduct, and cyber-security weaknesses among licensees. ASIC will also scrutinise predatory practices in used car financing, particularly those targeting financially vulnerable consumers.
Last year, ASIC increased its investigations by 25% and launched 23% more civil proceedings compared to the previous year. These actions resulted in significant outcomes in areas such as greenwashing, crypto misconduct, predatory lending, high-cost credit practices, and insider trading.
In a statement, Court highlighted the scope and impact of ASIC’s efforts, noting, “We have more matters before criminal courts around the country than we do before civil courts, and it requires intensive efforts by ASIC investigators to continue each of those cases.” She further stressed that enforcement statistics only partially capture the broader compliance and deterrence achieved, particularly in consumer and investor protections and driving behavioural change across industries.
