ASIC Releases H1 2026 Misconduct Report Data, Highlights Governance and Scam Trends

Key Takeaways

• ASIC's latest misconduct report data shows 9,807 reports received between January and June 2026, with steady overall volumes but a notable 14% increase in reports held for intelligence purposes and a continued rise in "out of jurisdiction" reports.
• Compliance teams, particularly those in financial services, corporate governance, and insolvency practice areas, should note the persistent prominence of unlicensed financial services, governance failures, and liquidator-related reporting failures as key themes driving regulatory attention.

Deep Dive

This update provides compliance teams with critical visibility into the types of misconduct ASIC prioritizes for investigation versus those recorded only for intelligence purposes. Notably, "Financial Services and Retail Investors" and "Corporations and Corporate Governance" themes continue to dominate, together accounting for 82% of all reports in the current period. Within these, unlicensed provision of financial services (including scams) and general licence obligations remain the largest subcategories, while governance issues and failures to provide books and records to liquidators remain the top drivers within corporate governance complaints. This signals continued regulatory sensitivity to licensing compliance and corporate transparency obligations.

A key shift in this period is the increase in reports "considered for future use" (45%, up from 40%), suggesting ASIC is capturing a broader net of intelligence even where immediate action is not taken. This reinforces that organizations should not assume low enforcement rates equate to low regulatory risk — all reports remain on ASIC's database and may resurface if new information arises. Firms should treat even minor complaints or internal escalations as potential triggers for future regulatory scrutiny, and ensure complaint-handling and record-retention policies anticipate this possibility.

The report does not introduce new rules or deadlines but functions as a transparency and trend-signaling tool. However, it reflects ASIC's ongoing enforcement priorities as outlined in its Corporate Plan, including creditor-defeating dispositions, whistleblower protections, director ID compliance, and auditor conduct for self-managed superannuation funds. Compliance teams at financial institutions, auditors, and insolvency practitioners should review current controls against these highlighted themes, particularly around licensing, auditor oversight, and liquidator cooperation.

From a risk perspective, firms operating in financial advice, consumer credit, insurance, and insolvency administration should view this data as an indicator of where ASIC surveillance resources are likely to be directed next. Recommended actions include: (1) reviewing internal complaint-handling processes to ensure early identification of reportable conduct; (2) reinforcing AFS licensing compliance monitoring; (3) strengthening governance and books-and-records practices to support liquidators; and (4) monitoring scam-related conduct exposure, given ASIC's continued high-volume website takedowns (averaging 230/week this period).

Source: Australian Securities and Investments Commission