Financial Services Snapshots 

Funds management

Consultation on enhancing oversight and governance of managed investment schemes

On 10 February 2026, Treasury released a consultation paper entitled, Enhancing oversight and governance of managed investment schemes, to improve consumer protections in the wake of the collapse of the Shield and First Guardian Master Funds. The consultation paper seeks views from stakeholders on proposals for enhancing managed investment scheme governance and oversight by ASIC, as well as improving ASIC’s visibility of superannuation switching. The consultation forms the first tranche of the Government’s broader agenda to strengthen consumer protections in the superannuation and financial services sectors.

See: Media release; Consultation page

Superannuation

ASIC urges super trustees to step up and address serious gaps in anti-scam and fraud protections

On 4 February 2025, ASIC urged immediate action from superannuation trustees to strengthen anti-scam and fraud practices after its latest review exposed significant gaps in communications for members. ASIC assessed scams and fraud-related website content across 47 superannuation funds, benchmarking them against comparable website content from the big four banks.

The review focused on the availability, quality and actionability of anti-scams and fraud content, including by checking the website content for clarity and relevance, prominence on the website and readability. ASIC’s review found banks scored positively in over 80% of criteria assessed, whereas most super funds scored positively against just 40–60% of the same criteria.

ASIC’s review identified key areas for improvement:

• Availability: While most super fund websites included some material on scams and fraud, this information was often hard to find or lacked prominence. Several super funds provided no scam or fraud information on their websites at all.
• Quality: Two-thirds of super fund websites included examples of scams and fraud, but the quality varied. Content was frequently outdated, generic, or overly complex. Only 19% of super funds clearly defined what constitutes a scam, and one-third did not provide messaging on their website on common scam signs.
• Actionability: Only about one third of super fund websites provided actionable information for members to prevent or report scams and fraud. Just one in five offered a dedicated contact method for scam and fraud reporting. Banks consistently outperformed funds in providing clear, detailed action steps and dedicated reporting channels.

See: Media Release

Other

ASIC announces new Chair

On 3 February 2025, ASIC announced the appointment of Sarah Court as the agency’s incoming Chair. Sarah Court commences as ASIC Chair on 1 June 2026.

See: Media Release

New legislation introduced to strengthen Australia’s financial reporting system

On 12 February 2026, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Financial Reporting System Reform) Bill 2026 was introduced which will deliver the most significant reform to Australia’s financial reporting standard setters in over two decades. The new legislation establishes more adaptable and accountable standard setting through the creation of a new entity, External Reporting Australia.

External Reporting Australia will combine the existing standard‑setting functions of the Australian Accounting Standards Board, Auditing and Assurance Standards Board and Financial Reporting Council, and be responsible for accounting, auditing and assurance, and sustainability standards.

See: Media release

AFCA publishes updated EDR Response Guide for Claim Delay complaints

On 6 February 2026, AFCA published an updated version of the EDR Response Guide for Claim Delay complaints in respect of unresolved AFCA referrals.

See: Media release

Authors: Jonathan Gordon, Partner; Corey McHattan, Partner; Hong-Viet Nguyen, Partner; Samantha Carroll and Kurt Cheng, Graduate.