Welcome to Issue 91 of the FSC Policy Update. This article outlines the Government's response to the collapses of the Shield and First Guardian Master Trusts, along with legislative and regulatory developments in the superannuation, investments, financial advice, tax, technology and innovation sectors, plus more. Learn about what’s impacting the financial services industry.

Click on the topic of interest below to read more

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO SHIELD AND FIRST GUARDIAN

At the National Press Club Lunch this month, the Assistant Treasurer, Dr Daniel Mulino, outlined the Government’s policy response to the collapses of the Shield and First Guardian Master Trusts. The Government also issued a media release and issued a Treasury factsheet outlining the reforms. The Assistant Treasurer emphasised that the package was aimed at strengthening Australia’s superannuation system through better consumer protection, increased stability and improved access to financial advice.

The Assistant Treasurer noted in his speech the efforts of industry, specifically highlighting the FSC’s Standard and the progress this has achieved in industry uplift so far.

Overall, the FSC believes this package reflects feedback provided and respects red lines around frictions on superannuation switching and restrictions to advice fee deductions. The FSC has released a media release in response to this announcement.

Some of the key reforms announced include:

Superannuation and platforms

A trustee compensation model: empowering APRA to set risk-based capital requirements for superannuation trustees offering higher-risk investment options to their members and providing ASIC with the power to direct superannuation trustees to commence a remediation process when an investment option fails and there is reason to suspect a failure of trustee obligations. The FSC understands that in practice, trustees will be required to demonstrate access to capital on a risk basis to compensate consumers where financial loss has been occasioned by deficiencies in meeting investment governance obligations. APRA will consult on the capital requirement details following the passage of the relevant legislation.
Advice fee deductions: Legislating an obligation on trustees to set and ensure compliance with caps on advice fee deductions from member accounts. There will be flexibility for trustees in setting these.

Lead generation

Real-time unlicensed communication prohibition about superannuation: A prohibition on unlicensed real-time communication with consumers about superannuation, with targeted exemptions to protect advocacy, educational and employment communications.
Limiting proactive advisor contact to existing clients: Limiting the existing financial advice anti-hawking exemption to current clients of advice businesses, with consultation on targeted exemptions to ensure low-risk arrangements and necessary contact with family members and third parties of existing clients are protected.
Consumer consent: Enhanced consent requirements to enable real-time contact with consumers.

Financial advice reform

Progressing DBFO Tranche 2: Financial Advice reforms including proceeding with changes to intra-fund charging and targeted superannuation prompts. The Minister also announced that it would proceed in introducing the New Class of Adviser (NCA) regime to APRA-regulated superannuation and life insurance entities in the first instance, supported by strong safeguards against vertical integration through prohibitions on commissions, bonuses and volume-based payments.

Managed Investment Schemes

ASIC data collection and MIS reporting: Enhanced risk-based supervision of Managed Investment Schemes (MISs) primarily through improved data collection on the MIS sector by ASIC to enable ASIC to undertake more targeted risk-based surveillance and to identify and act earlier on the risk of consumer harm (previously announced in the Budget). The Government also announced requiring MISs to report to ASIC when the fund has been frozen and giving the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board the power to make mandatory audit and assurance standards for auditors of MIS compliance plans. Treasury will soon consult on options to improve data collection on the MIS sector.

SMSFs

Greater regulation of Self-Managed Super Funds (SMSFs): including empowering the ATO to prevent rollovers to new SMSFs in situations where the ATO is investigating concerns of fraud, financial abuse, misconduct, or potential harm and introducing mandatory trustee education prior to SMSF registration and supporting industry-led initiatives to uplift standards across the sector.

Compensation Scheme of Last Resort

Key reforms to the design of the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR): including limiting CSLR payments to actual losses for applications made to AFCA after 30 June 2027, without any change to AFCA entitlements and redesigning the proposed waterfall levy model, which is proposed to potentially levy additional ‘connected subsectors.

The Government will not be pursuing many of the proposals that the FSC did not support, such as:

Superannuation switching frictions between APRA regulated funds
Prohibition on advice fee deductions for superannuation switching advice
Prescriptive investment governance laws for platforms; and
Restricting or limiting retail access to certain MIS asset classes.

The FSC expects consultation to commence on a number of these initiatives over the next couple of months. The FSC will work with members to provide relevant feedback.

For more information, please contact the relevant policy person:

For more information on lead generation contact Bronwyn Allan
For more information on MISs contact Aidan Johnson
For more information on superannuation contact Kirsten Samuels
For more information on platforms contact Julia Hukka
For more information on financial advice contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

PARLIAMENT, LEGISLATION & REGULATION

Budget CGT reforms

Following the successful passage of the Government’s ‘Tranche 1’ 2026-27 Budget CGT legislation (replacing the CGT discount with cost-base indexation for most investments from 1 July 2027), the FSC is responding to Treasury’s ‘Tranche 2’ exposure drafts. Two material issues have emerged for funds management and superannuation businesses: preserving tax neutrality for superannuation funds investing through MITs and AMITs and providing sufficient implementation time to comply with the reforms.

Under the announced capital-loss ordering rules, superannuation funds investing through MITs or AMITs may receive a worse tax outcome than funds holding the same assets directly. The FSC has raised this issue in direct meetings with the Treasurer’s Office, Treasury, and the ATO. The reforms also require substantial changes to custodial and investor-reporting systems. The FSC is seeking either a one-year institutional transition or an unders-and-overs-style reconciliation for FY2028, supported by a facilitative compliance approach while systems changes are completed. Advocacy is being advanced through the FSC’s Tranche 2 submission and through continuing engagement with Treasury, the ATO and Government.

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Government issues new Statement of Expectations for APRA and ASIC

On 16 July 2026, the Treasurer released updated Statements of Expectations for APRA and ASIC, setting out the Government’s expectations for how the regulators exercise their functions and powers. The overarching theme across both Statements is a stronger expectation that the regulators support productivity and sustainable economic growth through proportionate, risk-based regulation, while continuing to maintain financial stability, market integrity and consumer protection. The Treasurer’s accompanying media release also emphasised that the updated Statements are intended to support the Government’s broader productivity agenda by reducing unnecessary regulatory burden and encouraging investment and innovation.

Both Statements introduce a greater emphasis on artificial intelligence, with APRA and ASIC expected to promote and monitor the responsible use of AI technologies while strengthening their own technological capabilities. Superannuation also features more prominently, with APRA expanding its focus on member outcomes and expressly referring to recent issues in platform investment governance, while ASIC is now specifically expected to monitor and enforce high standards of superannuation member services and retirement outcomes. The ASIC Statement also introduces an expectation that ASIC allocate sufficient resourcing to surveillance, supervision and enforcement to support early detection of misconduct and effective deterrence. Across both Statements, the regulators are also expected to adopt more proportionate regulatory approaches, review existing standards, guidance and legislative instruments more regularly, improve coordination with other regulators and provide greater transparency regarding future regulatory initiatives.

Both regulators have published responses to the Statements of Expectations outlining how they intend to meet the Government’s expectations.

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Regulations supporting ban on superannuation advertising during employee onboarding registered

Treasury has finalised the regulations supporting the recently passed Treasury Laws Amendment (Supporting Choice in Superannuation and Other Measures) Act 2026.

The regulations are materially unchanged from the draft regulations and prescribe the conditions and disclosure requirements that must be met when relying on the exception that permits the advertising of certain MySuper products during onboarding.

The FSC previously made a submission to Treasury’s consultation on the draft regulations, supporting the regulations but also restating our concern that the broader reforms will have practical effect of reducing choice for Australian consumers. This is particularly the case at the employee onboarding stage where individuals are prompted to engage with their superannuation arrangements.

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ASIC releases consolidated IDPS and IDPS-like schemes relief instrument

ASIC has registered the ASIC Corporations (Platforms—IDPSs and IDPS-like Schemes) Instrument 2026/395 on the Federal Register of Legislation. The relief instrument consolidates and replaces the relief provided to IDPS and IDPS-like schemes under:

ASIC Corporations (Investor Directed Portfolio Services Provided Through a Registered Managed Investment Scheme) Instrument 2023/668(ASIC Instrument 2023/668), and
ASIC Corporations (Investor Directed Portfolio Services) Instrument 2023/669(ASIC Instrument 2023/669).

ASIC consulted on the proposed simplification of the platform instruments (as part of a pilot legislative instrument simplification initiative) in Report 813 Regulatory Simplification (REP 813), in September 2025.

Aside from simplification and consolidation, the key changes from the existing relief settings include:

replacing quarterly reporting requirements with a requirement to provide clients with continuous electronic access to account information, while retaining annual investor statements;
removing the existing ability for retail clients to access certain unregistered managed investment schemes through an IDPS or IDPS-like scheme; and
modernising disclosure requirements for IDPS Guides and IDPS-like PDSs, with less prescription over how required information is presented while retaining key disclosure topics.

The FSC made a submission to this consultation generally supportive of the proposed approach, and some of our feedback was reflected in the final instrument.

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New rules for organisations sending text messages to customers: SMS Sender ID Register

From 1 July 2026, Australian Communications and Media Authority’s (ACMA) new SMS Sender ID Register commenced. The SMS Sender ID Register is part of the government’s Fighting Scams initiative to address scams and online fraud and protect Australians from financial harm.

SMS messages sent using registered Sender IDs continue to appear with the business or organisation’s name.

However, the new rules mean that SMS messages sent from unregistered sender IDs are to be labelled ‘Unverified’ by the telco carrier. These messages are to be grouped in a single message thread, making it easier for consumers to identify potential scams.

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Department of Finance commences statutory review of the Digital ID Act 2024

On 14 July 2026, the Department of Finance commenced a statutory review of the Digital ID Act 2024. Section 162 of the Act requires a review to be undertaken within its first two years to make sure it is working as intended. The review also invites views as to whether the legislation would benefit from any amendments to improve the operation of the legislative framework particularly in the context of changes in the broader digital and data environment and developments in related legislation.

The FSC made a submission to the consultation supportive of the objectives of the Act and making recommendations around actions that could encourage broader industry adoption of Digital ID and the realisation of the Act’s intended economic benefits.

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Foreign Financial Service Providers (FFSPs) - ASIC relief

The FSC has long advocated for a permanent resolution to the uncertainty surrounding the FFSP regime, with foreign providers relying on rolling transitional relief from the AFS licensing requirements since 2003. The Government’s 2025 Bill establishing a statutory licensing exemption for FFSPs passed unamended on 1 April 2026 and is now law as Schedule 2 of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Genetic Testing Protections in Life Insurance and Other Measures) Act 2026.

The new exemption is due to commence on 8 April 2027. ASIC’s existing transitional relief currently runs to 31 March 2027, leaving a one-week gap. ASIC is aware of the issue and intends to address it through appropriate measures. ASIC is also expected to consult shortly on draft guidance for the new exemptions. Treasury is progressing implementation of the comparable regulator exemption and is expected to prioritise jurisdictions for assessment.

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Critical amendments to the merger reform framework

The Government has introduced amendments to implement critical fixes to the framework for notifying the ACCC of mergers and acquisitions in Schedule 4 of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Accountability for Tax Adviser Misconduct and Other Measures) Bill 2026.

The proposed amendments will alter the consequences of non-notification of a transaction to make it voidable by the ACCC rather than void. It also modifies the definition of joint control and associates to ensure acquisitions that do not result in a meaningful change in control are not required to be notified.

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SUPERANNUATION

APRA announces upcoming consultation on investment governance standard

In conjunction with the announcements by the Assistant Treasurer regarding the response to the failures of Shield and First Guardian, APRA has also announced a plan to consult on a package of reforms to lift investment governance and reduce the likelihood of member harm. APRA will look at amendments to the Standard around the following areas:

Ensuring that a trustee’s investment management capability is commensurate to the complexity of their investment menu;
Addressing weaknesses in onboarding, monitoring and offboarding practices;
Addressing material conflicts;
Improving member-level diversification; and
Strengthening trustee oversight and accountability

Although this review will be influenced by the Shield and First Guardian policy response priorities, APRA has been working for several years on investment governance standards across the superannuation industry. APRA have noted that the proposed changes will apply to the whole of industry but will be particularly relevant to platform trustees.

APRA have also noted that it will consult on the capital component of the announced trustee compensation model following the passage of the enabling legislation.

The FSC will prepare a consultation response with members.

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APRA announces 2026-27 Corporate Plan

APRA has released its 2026-27 Corporate Plan, outlining its strategic priorities and planned policy and supervisory activity. The Plan has a strong focus on strengthening resilience in response to emerging risks, including AI and cyber threats, while continuing APRA’s focus on reducing unnecessary regulatory burden and improving the efficiency of the prudential framework.

For superannuation, key areas of focus include investment governance, platform oversight, operational resilience, retirement, and member outcomes. Platform trustees will remain a particular focus, with APRA planning further investment governance reforms informed by its recent platform work and the lessons from Shield and First Guardian. APRA will also progress capital requirements associated with the Government’s proposed trustee compensation reforms and maintain heightened supervisory attention on operational resilience, AI and cyber risk. Read APRA’s media release and Corporate Plan.

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APRA closes consultation on implementation of the Retirement Data Reporting Framework

APRA has closed its consultation on the proposed superannuation data collection to implement the Government’s Retirement Reporting Framework. The proposed data collection includes:

indicators on trustee offerings, including drawdown options, access to lifetime income products and access to personal financial advice;

metrics on member behaviour, including take-up of retirement products, drawdown levels and balance utilisation in retirement; and
segmentation of the data by member attributes to enable comparison of retirement outcomes across different cohorts.

The proposed data collection includes the introduction of a new reporting standard SRS611.1 Retirement Member Profile and modifications to reporting standards SRS101.0 Definitions for Superannuation Data Collections and SRS 607.0 RSE Business Model.

The FSC’s submission was broadly supportive of APRA’s proposed direction but cautioned against using this data for a retirement performance test. In terms of implementation, the submission also expressed concerns about the sheer volume and granularity of the proposed data, particularly given the number of permutations required to produce the reporting outputs.

APRA intends on releasing the final reporting standards in Q3 of 2026.

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APRA consults on proposed changes to Board Governance Framework

Following consultation on a discussion paper that proposed streamlining APRA’s Governance Standards into a single standard, APRA has now released a new draft Standard 510 for consultation.

The FSC was pleased to see much of its feedback incorporated into the new proposed standard, for example, maintaining a 12-year term limit, as opposed to the proposed 10-year limit, and removing the proposed requirement to have APRA significantly involved in board recruitment.

One of the other key updates in the new draft Standard is the streamlining of requirements for Responsible Persons and Accountable Persons.

The FSC will make a submission to the new consultation which will primarily note areas where further guidance is needed in relation to the Standard. The FSC has received some feedback about the potentially unintended consequences of the streamlining of the reporting requirements for accountable and responsible persons, for funds with more complex, global structures. The FSC will look to incorporate this feedback whilst also supporting the overall aim of streamlined reporting requirements.

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Government consults further on performance test reforms

The Government has completed the next stage of consultation on potential reforms to the annual superannuation performance test, with Treasury’s consultation closing on 19 June.

The consultation considered options to reduce unintended barriers to investment while maintaining an objective and credible performance test. The options included:

introducing a new benchmark approach for emerging and alternative asset classes, including a potential CPI + X benchmark;
introducing an assessment of risk-adjusted returns, including through a simple reference portfolio;
establishing a routine review of the prescribed benchmarks; and

expanding the scope of the test to externally directed products, with Treasury also seeking views on single-sector and retirement products.

The FSC made a submission supporting targeted and proportionate refinements to improve the operation of the test while maintaining its role in protecting members from underperformance.

The FSC supports a targeted CPI + X benchmark for emerging and alternative assets that are not appropriately captured by existing benchmarks, alongside a regular review process to ensure benchmarks remain fit for purpose as markets evolve. The FSC does not support replacing the existing strategic asset allocation benchmark framework with a simple reference portfolio, which could create new distortions, such as a further preference towards illiquid unlisted assets, and weaken the link between the test and how trustees actually invest.

The FSC also does not support extending the existing binary pass/fail test to externally directed, single-sector or retirement products. These products are generally more diverse, member-directed and often advice-led, meaning a binary test could produce misleading outcomes, reduce investment choice and discourage product innovation. The FSC instead supports further consideration of transparency and comparability frameworks that better reflect the characteristics of these products.

The FSC will continue engaging with the Government as it considers feedback from the consultation and determines the next steps for reform.

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Financial Institutions Supervisory Levies for 2026-27

On 23 June 2026, Treasury registered the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Supervisory Levies Determination 2026 on the Federal Register of Legislation. The Instrument determines the basis of the levy payable by APRA-regulated entities for the 2026–27 financial year and gives effect to the annual supervisory levy arrangements.

The accompanying explanatory statement noted that Treasury consulted on the proposed levies between May-June 2026, with five submissions received. The FSC did not receive any feedback on the relevant discussion paper and so did not make a submission to the consultation.

The Determination commenced on 1 July 2026.

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APRA consults on minor updates to the prudential framework

On 10 July 2026, APRA released for consultation proposed minor amendments to the prudential and reporting framework for authorised deposit taking institutions, insurers and registrable superannuation entity licensees. Minor updates are proposed to 10 prudential standards, 15 reporting standards and two prudential practice guides.

The updates include:

clarifications to improve interpretation and application of existing requirements,
minor amendments to prudential standards to correct drafting issues and outdated references, incorporate previously announced measures, and ensure consistency across the framework; and
targeted updates to reporting standards to improve data quality and usability.

Together, these changes are intended to resolve ambiguity, address feedback from industry, and ensure APRA continues to receive consistent and high-quality information to support supervision. The changes are not intended to introduce new policy requirements or materially alter existing obligations.

The FSC made a submission to the consultation nominating a couple more areas that would benefit from further alignment and clarity, such as reporting standards and FAQs.

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APRA consults on proposed updates to superannuation reporting standards

As part of the migration of superannuation data collections from the legacy Direct to APRA (D2A) platform to APRA Connect, APRA has released a consultation package proposing amendments to several superannuation reporting standards.

While the consultation is primarily intended to facilitate the transition to APRA Connect, APRA is also proposing a small number of consequential amendments to simplify existing reporting requirements by removing data that is duplicated elsewhere in the prudential reporting framework.

The FSC made a submission to the consultation broadly supportive of the proposed changes, with a couple of recommendations around where further simplification or clarification would further reduce regulatory burden and improve the operation of the proposed reporting requirements.

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APRA publishes findings of inaugural System Risk Stress Test

On 30 June 2026, APRA published the findings of its inaugural System Risk Stress Test, which focused on links between the banking and superannuation systems. The exercise was conducted in 2025 with the four major banks and six large superannuation funds and examined how a hypothetical “severe but plausible” shock might impact the financial system.

The findings highlighted the resilience of Australia’s financial system to liquidity and market shocks, with all participating institutions able to withstand the shock and rebuild liquidity over the test period. They also demonstrated the constructive role the superannuation sector can play as a stabilising force for the banking sector through its capacity to provide long-term capital to support bank recapitalisation during periods of stress.

APRA intends on using the findings to inform proposed amendments to bank liquidity requirements that they will consult on within the next 12 months, as well as core supervisory activities for banks and super funds.

The full findings of the System Risk Stress Test can be accessed here.

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APRA sets out minimum expectations to strengthen industry readiness for geopolitical shocks

On 17 June 2026, APRA issued a public letter to banks, insurers and superannuation funds setting out its minimum expectations in relation to their readiness for geopolitical shocks.

The letter observes that while many entities are alert to geopolitical risk, there are differing levels of maturity in how this awareness is translated into risk management practices and crisis preparedness. APRA has therefore outlined a set of minimum expectations for how entities should manage the prudential risks from geopolitical shocks, and maps these to existing prudential standards. Among other things, APRA expects entities to:

actively monitor geopolitical risks and incorporate scenarios into governance arrangements, risk frameworks, capital and liquidity planning;
ensure security and integrity policies and practices are in place to identify, manage and respond to insider threats and foreign interference;
understand critical third-party and offshore dependencies, and have contingency plans in place for disruption, freezes, restrictions or loss of access; and
establish and maintain crisis response capabilities (including playbooks, plans and exercises) proportionately to an entity’s risk profile.

APRA indicated that it will increasingly consider entities' management of geopolitical risk through its supervisory activities and engagement with industry. Additionally, APRA intends to write to a group of larger entities with heightened exposure to geopolitical shocks asking them to complete a targeted readiness assessment with a focus on crisis preparedness, personnel risks and political risks.

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Updates to Labor Platform on superannuation at Australian Labor Party National Conference

On 23 July 2026, the Australian Labor Party held its National Conference in Adelaide, where delegates considered amendments to the party's platform and the Prime Minister outlined a number of policy commitments. Of particular relevance to the financial services sector were two superannuation-related announcements: Labor's endorsement of further integration between the superannuation and social security systems, and a commitment to extend compulsory superannuation to all workers under 18.

Integration of superannuation and Centrelink: Labor adopted a platform commitment to pursue greater integration between the superannuation system and Centrelink, reflecting a proposal advanced by former Prime Minister Paul Keating. The reform would explore secure data-sharing arrangements between major superannuation funds and Services Australia to simplify interactions with the retirement income system, reduce administrative burden for retirees, and improve the delivery of Age Pension and related entitlements. Further policy development and consultation is expected before any legislative changes are proposed.
Superannuation for workers under 18: Labor also adopted a platform commitment to remove the existing requirement that employees under 18 must work more than 30 hours per week before becoming eligible for compulsory superannuation. Under the proposal, all employees (including those under 18, regardless of hours worked or employment type) would receive superannuation contributions on every dollar earned. The measure is intended to improve retirement outcomes for young Australians by enabling earlier accumulation of superannuation savings, although it will increase employment costs for businesses that employ younger workers.

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APRA releases response to consultation on remaking Level 3 conglomerate standards

On 28 July 2026, APRA released its response letter to submissions on the consultation to remake three Level 3 conglomerate prudential standards ahead of their scheduled sunset on 1 October 2026.

Following consultation, APRA will remake Prudential Standards 3PS 221 Aggregate Risk Exposures, 3PS 222 Intra-group Transactions and Exposures and 3PS 310 Audit and Related Matters with administrative updates only prior to the sunsetting date. The updates do not introduce new requirements for conglomerate groups.

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ADVICE

Delivering Better Financial Outcomes (DBFO) Tranche 2

On 19 August, as part of the Government’s policy response to the Shield and First Guardian collapses the Assistant Treasurer, Dr Daniel Mulino announced that he would progress the following DBFO reforms and related reforms:

Changes to clarify the advice topics able to be collective charged (under intra-fund advice), targeted superannuation prompts and streamlining Statements of Advice as soon as possible;
Simplification of the Best Interests Duty by maintaining the safe harbour steps but removing paragraph (g) of the safe harbour which has acted as a barrier to scaled advice;
Introducing the New Class of Adviser (NCA) regime to APRA-regulated superannuation and life insurance entities in the first instance, supported by strong safeguards against vertical integration through prohibitions on commissions, bonuses and volume-based payments;
Streamlining the education requirements for professional advisers to create a sustainable pathway for new advisers to enter the profession (also see item below); and
Reviewing the Adviser Code of Ethics to ensure it is fit for purpose and supports the safe provision of scaled advice.

The FSC has welcomed this announcement, which follows months of industry advocacy to maintain financial advice reform on the policy agenda. In the short term the FSC expects to engage with the detail of subsequent announcements on the breadth of intra-fund advice topics and the scope of advice the NCA can provide.

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FSC Advice Licensing White Paper

The FSC released the White Paper on the Future of Advice Licensing at its Shaping Advice Summit on 30 July. The paper recommends retaining the Australian financial services licensing framework while strengthening ASIC supervision of licensees through a universal baseline level of supervision, a biannual per-licensee engagement and review process, and enhanced risk-based regulatory oversight.

The FSC subsequently met with ASIC, Treasury and the Assistant Treasurer’s Office throughout August to discuss the recommendations. Government and regulators have engaged with interest on the proposed reforms, with the FSC highlighting in discussions that reform of the supervision of the existing licensing framework to reduce the risk of consumer harm proactively is to be preferred over pursuing piecemeal legislative fixes in reaction to consumer harms. The FSC will continue engaging with Government, ASIC and industry stakeholders as the recommendations are considered.

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Financial Advice Education Standards

Alongside DBFO the FSC has strongly advocated for progress on streamlining the financial advice education standards. Following Treasury’s consultation paper on the proposed financial adviser education standards framework earlier this year, it has now commenced the next step of policy implementation work to progress the reforms to legislation. Treasury has established an industry Curriculum Working Group (CWG) to develop the detailed curriculum for the four prescribed financial advice subjects proposed as part of the new framework: Ethics for Professional Advisers; Financial Advice Regulatory and Legal Obligations; Client and Consumer Behaviour; and Financial Advice Fundamentals.

The FSC and a number of advice licensees, alongside higher education providers and other industry associations, are represented on the CWG. The Working Group will meet with Treasury over the next few months and will finalise its advice to government on the curriculum before the end of the year.

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CSLR Operator announces revised CSLR levy estimate for FY27

On 2 July 2026, the CSLR Operator has released the actuarial report disclosing the revised total CSLR levy estimate for FY27 as $198m, up from the initial estimate of $137.5m. The portion of the levy attributable to the personal financial advice subsector is $190.3m up from the initial estimate of $126.9m. This represents a $170.3m breach of the advice subsector cap, which will most likely be funded through special levy. Pending Ministerial decision on special levy funding, the levy collection of the FY27 special levy as well as the FY28 annual levy is likely to occur between March-June 2027.

The increases from the initial estimate to the revised estimate are primarily driven by the first tranche of Shield and First Guardian claims ($30.2m) that have been processed by AFCA (which weren’t included in the initial estimate) as well as higher volumes of Dixon claims being resolved than previously expected. AFCA forecasts that all outstanding Dixon claims will be resolved in FY27.

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ASIC review of compliance in the Managed Account Sector

The FSC understands ASIC’s review of Separately Managed Accounts (SMAs) is ‘on track’ and therefore a report can be expected to be released later in the year. Speaking at the FSC’s Shaping Advice Summit in July, Commissioner Alan Kirkland said ASIC was interested in the following issues as part of the review: total SMA costs and how they flow through to the consumer; the relationships that exist between entities in the SMA value chain and how conflicts are managed; and what evidence exists through documentation that the best interests duty has been followed.

The FSC has continued to engage its Managed Accounts Expert Group to advance the elements of its advocacy agenda. These include:

demonstrating areas of good practice in the managed accounts sector, which can also alleviate the threat of regulation to address risks that have been identified and ensure an uplift to consistency and clarity for consumers. The FSC identified conflicts management, governance of fees and governance relating to the construction of benchmarks as the key areas.
advocacy on managed accounts to better educate the public and other relevant parties about the role and benefits of managed accounts to consumers.
continued engagement on policy and regulatory matters to represent the managed accounts perspective.

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ASIC Levy Cost Recovery Implementation Statement

On 13 July, ASIC released its Cost Recovery Implementation Statement for 2025-26. This outlines how ASIC will recover regulatory costs from industry under the industry funding model. For 2025-26 ASIC’s total estimated recoverable costs are $400.5 million, which is a 19% increase on 2024-25 recovered costs ($337.6 million).

For licensees that provide personal advice to retail clients on relevant financial products the estimated cost recovery amount for 2025-26 is $48.72 million, an increase of $8.77m on the actual costs for 2024-25, representing a material 22% uplift. While the annual licensee levy is proposed to remain at $1,500, the minimum per adviser levy is proposed to increase from $2,398 to $3,307. ASIC has indicated the main driver of this variance is due to increased enforcement costs through increased enforcement action and new matters arising.

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ASIC consultation on net tangible assets (for responsible entities)

On 30 July, ASIC released its response to Consultation Paper CP388 Net tangible assets requirements for responsible entities proposing a targeted and proportionate increase to the thresholds to ensure a Responsible Entity is an entity of substance.

As part of this consultation ASIC also sought feedback on whether NTA requirements should be introduced for other AFS licensees including MDA operators. The FSC proposed a calibrated NTA requirement for MDA operators reflecting their structure and service provision within the market place, ensuring appropriate consumer protections. In its response ASIC has chosen to maintain the focus of the review on NTA requirements for responsible entities and other fund managers.

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PLATFORMS

ASIC releases Report 833 Safeguarding super: How well are platform trustees monitoring risks to retirement savings?

On 29 June 2026, ASIC publicly released their Report 833 Safeguarding super: How well are platform trustees monitoring risks to retirement savings? (REP833) and an accompanying media release. The report details ASIC’s findings around how six de-identified platform trustees were monitoring and disrupting high-risk superannuation switching activity between 1 June 2024 to 31 October 2025. The report states that “While [ASIC] saw some pleasing examples of uplift since our previous reviews on these issues, [they] were overwhelmingly disappointed with the lack of progress in key areas.” Their findings, and corresponding “calls to action” address the areas of trustees’ oversight of advice fee deductions, onboarding and ongoing monitoring of advisers and advice licensees, and monitoring of fees and investment flows.

The FSC has put out a media release acknowledging ASIC’s concerns, and points to the ways in which industry is proactively acting on these concerns, including the positive work to uplift investment and adviser governance standards through the recently released FSC Standard 31.

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INVESTMENTS

FSC releases new industry private markets standard and guidance note

On 26 August, the FSC has released and supporting Guidance Note No. 57: Private Markets Best Practice Guidance, establishing a new industry framework to strengthen governance, transparency and risk management across private markets, including a focus on private credit.

Developed with leading global and Australian private market operators and superannuation members, in response to ASIC’s work on private markets and its call for industry-led uplift, the Standard sets mandatory principles for relevant FSC Full Members across governance, valuations, liquidity and leverage, conflicts, fees and disclosure, with additional requirements for private credit risk management. The Standard will commence on 1 July 2027, supported by a non-mandatory Guidance Note providing practical implementation guidance.

Read the full media release here.

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RG97 review

ASIC introduced RG97 in 2015 to improve transparency and comparability of fees and costs disclosed for superannuation and managed investment products. Following an independent review, ASIC substantially revised the framework in 2020.

Following the 2025 Economic Reform Roundtable, ASIC conducted a targeted review of stamp duty disclosure and finalised changes through ASIC Corporations (Amendment) Instrument 2026/337, released in May 2026 and applying from 1 July 2026. Following FSC and industry feedback, the final approach allows stamp duty costs to be allocated on a forward-looking, straight-line basis over seven years, rather than the originally proposed rolling historical average methodology. The revised approach addresses concerns about the impact of the historical average methodology on new and recently launched products.

ASIC has now commenced its broader review of RG97 and established a Working Group of industry leaders to inform an issues paper. The FSC participated in the first Working Group meeting in late July, which sought views on the effectiveness of RG97, the scope of the review, and ASIC’s proposed engagement approach.

ASIC’s initial areas of focus are:

simplifying RG 97 and the associated legislative instrument;
ensuring disclosures continue to support the policy objectives of the regime; and
reviewing the treatment of platforms and the interposed vehicle test.

ASIC plans further meetings with specific sectors and another Working Group later this year. An issues paper is expected towards the end of 2026, followed by a consultation paper and, subject to consultation outcomes, draft and final guidance. The FSC has established a new Fees and Costs Disclosure Working Group to consider issues arising from the review.

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Foreign investment framework - review of ineffective conditions

Treasury has announced a consultation on current approval conditions to inform its review of the foreign investment framework. This process is intended to assess whether existing conditions remain necessary, effective and fit for purpose, and to identify opportunities for improvement in the conditions of approval applied to proposals.

The consultation paper invites comment on specific conditions that may not contribute materially to mitigating identified risks, duplicate obligations under other Australian regulatory regimes, or do not reflect current business practices or technologies. It also requests information on any conditions that may be inconsistent with guiding principles on national interest concerns.

The consultation is open until Tuesday 15 September 2026.

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Enhanced beneficial ownership disclosure

ASIC consulted on new instruments implementing the Government’s reforms on disclosure of the beneficial ownership of entities in April 2026. The FSC provided feedback that focused on avoiding unintended consequences for trusts and minimising the regulatory burden from small holdings.

In response to feedback, the finalised instruments issued by ASIC apply a deemed economic interest of zero applies where derivatives are used for management of a basket or index and there is no capability to influence the composition of the basket or weighting of the index. This applies where:

the index is issued by a listed index provider, constituent securities and their weightings are determined using a publicly available methodology, and where each of the constituent securities are quoted on a financial market; or
at least one exchange traded fund tracks the basket or index.

In addition, the threshold has been adjusted for the securities of a particular class in the basket or index has been raised to 30 per cent by value. The instrument also simplifies and improves accessibility of tracing notice responses for the register of relevant interests. The FSC will continue to monitor the framework and raise implementation issues with the Government as required.

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ASIC pre-hedging guidance

ASIC consulted on a draft Regulatory Guide on pre-hedging, which implements the recommendations of a recent IOSCO report on the practice. Feedback was also requested on whether to include ‘better practice examples’ beyond the IOSCO recommendations in the guidance.

The FSC submission supported the IOSCO recommendations, as well as further clarification on obtaining and maintaining informed client consent by dealers ahead of pre-hedging. Examples should be consistent with the international approach. ASIC will consider industry and stakeholder feedback in finalising the guidance.

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LEGAL, TAX & CROSS-PORTFOLIO

ASIC focus on lead generation

ASIC has expanded its published list of known entities involved in lead generation activities. ASIC has added 19 entities to the list, including 13 lead generators or referral partners and six advice licensees or corporate authorised representatives that have acquired leads since 1 July 2024.

The list is intended to improve transparency for consumers and does not indicate that any entity has contravened the law. However, ASIC has reiterated that it will consider enforcement action where it identifies evidence of misconduct. ASIC has also warned that lead generators using misleading or high-pressure tactics, or providing financial services without the appropriate licence, may breach the law, and licensed entities engaging such providers may also face regulatory risk.

The review forms part of the Government’s ongoing response to Shield and First Guardian. More information on the Government’s reforms can be found in the top section of the Policy Update on the Government Response to Shield and First Guardian.

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Minimum tax on discretionary trusts

The FSC has lodged a submission in response to Treasury’s consultation paper on the proposed 30 per cent minimum tax on discretionary trusts, scheduled to commence on 1 July 2028. The submission supports a targeted definition which aligns with the Government’s policy intent, but confines the regime to trusts involving substantive trustee discretion to distribute.

The FSC is seeking express exclusions for managed investment schemes, collective investment vehicles, IDPS arrangements, custodial and nominee structures, fixed and widely held trusts, superannuation funds and deceased estates. The FSC has also discussed the submission with Treasury in a direct meeting.

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Foreign Resident Capital Gains Tax reforms

As previously reported, the government’s foreign resident CGT Bill expands the range of assets subject to foreign resident CGT. Compared with the exposure draft, the legislation introduced into Parliament addresses some industry concerns by guaranteeing existing tax treatment for transactions completed before commencement, expanding the renewable-energy concession to include energy storage, increasing the indirect-interest threshold to 75 per cent and providing greater flexibility for vendor notifications. However, it does not provide grandfathering or a market-value cost-base reset for existing assets sold after commencement.

Following FSC engagement with the government, the Coalition and the Greens, the FSC understands the Government reached an agreement with the Greens on 20 August to secure passage of the Bill. As part of that agreement, the transitional 50 per cent CGT discount for qualifying renewable-energy and energy-storage asset, equivalent to an effective 15 per cent CGT rate for entities taxed at 30 per cent, has been extended from 30 June 2030 to 30 June 2040. While narrower than the FSC’s preferred outcome, this is a meaningful improvement that should mitigate the legislation’s impact on Australia’s renewable-energy investment pipeline.

The Bill has passed the House of Representatives amended as above, and is expected to pass the Senate without further amendment during the next sitting fortnight in September. Under the Bill’s commencement provisions, the reforms would therefore likely take effect from 1 October 2026.

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Other Tax Expert Group issues

Board of Taxation Thin Capitalisation Review
The FSC has made a submission to the Board of Taxation’s statutory review of the 2024 thin-capitalisation reforms, and has subsequently been invited to a targeted finance-industry consultation in late August. The FSC will attend the consultation and will draw on its submission to argue against the unintended impacts of the operation of the reforms for legitimate institutional investment arrangements.

Swiss Withholding Tax Reclaims for Australian Funds
The FSC continues to work with the ATO and members on access to Swiss withholding-tax reclaims for Australian investors. Swiss practice generally treats foreign collective schemes as transparent and is denying beneficial-owner status where a vehicle is contractually required to pass income through to investors. The FSC met with the ATO Treaties Unit to discuss enabling (from the Swiss perspective) acceptance of ATO aggregate verification of resident investor percentages to support fund-level claims. Further work is required to establish a consistent and administratively workable relief mechanism for Australian funds, which the FSC is progressing with the ATO.

Short-Term Foreign-Exchange Election
The FSC continues to seek an amendment to the short-term foreign-exchange election (extending access to funds established after 2003), a long term announced but unenacted measure, to ensure the rules enable full compliance for all funds. The issue was raised with Treasury in August, who were sympathetic to the need for the reform, but noted present difficulties with drafting resources (particularly due to the budget changes). The FSC is working with Members and ACSA to substantiate the case for prioritising the legislative amendment.

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Deregulation and productivity agenda

The FSC continues to engage with Treasury and regulators on regulatory simplification and productivity reforms, including through the CFR’s package of actions, which includes measures to reduce duplication and streamline regulatory requirements.

As part of this work, APRA has proposed changes to CPS510 Governance to streamline requirements under FAR and the Fit and Proper framework. The changes would remove duplicative fit and proper reporting now that FAR reporting is in place, including eliminating forms currently required for around 6,000 individuals. The proposals would also narrow the scope of “responsible person” to more closely align with FAR’s “accountable persons”. This is a reform long advocated for by the FSC. Consultation closes on 28 August 2026, with a final standard expected in late 2026 and implementation likely from early 2028.

ASIC has also progressed an initiative identified in its Report 830 – Regulatory simplification, releasing the new ASIC Corporations (Platforms—IDPSs and IDPS-like Schemes) Instrument 2026/395. The instrument consolidates and simplifies existing relief for IDPSs and IDPS-like schemes, replacing two previous instruments. See more information in Parliament, Legislation & Regulation section.

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Anti Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML / CTF)

AUSTRAC AML/CTF Rules
The new AML/CTF requirements for Tranche 1 reporting entities commenced on 31 March 2026, with Tranche 2 entities following from 1 July 2026. AUSTRAC continues to refine the Rules and has emphasised that implementation plans are the key mechanism for managing compliance where entities are not fully compliant by commencement. The FSC continues to engage with AUSTRAC on implementation and targeted amendments.

AML / CTF Amendment Bill 2026
The AML/CTF Amendment Bill 2026 was introduced to Parliament in March and referred to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) in May. The PJCIS has recommended that the Bill pass, subject to a number of changes, including:

additional safeguards around the proposed power to restrict or prohibit high-risk products, services or channels. In particular, this would give the Minister the final decision-making role, rather than the AUSTRAC CEO, based on advice from the AUSTRAC CEO;
consideration of restrictions or prohibitions on crypto ATMs, given the risks identified during the inquiry;
providing greater clarity around certain key terms used in the Bill; and
aligning commencement of the Bill’s new obligations to 1 July 2027, rather than the different commencement dates currently provided for in the Bill. This would allow entities additional time to implement systems and compliance arrangements following the Tranche 2 reforms.

The Bill remains before Parliament.

OAIC Privacy Guidance
The FSC led industry engagement with the OAIC on the treatment of customer identification documents, resulting in updated, principles-based guidance on the destruction or de-identification of ID information. The guidance was initially published in February and updated in April.

In August, the OAIC published an additional fact sheet on handling ID documents for AML Act compliance, addressing ongoing industry concerns about the collection and retention of ID copies.

Key points include:

The AML Act does not require entities to collect, use, disclose or retain full copies of ID documents for CDD, monitoring or record-keeping purposes. Entities are encouraged to extract key information fields or use digital verification technology.
There may be legitimate legal or business reasons to collect ID documents, but these reasons must be defensible and information should only be retained for as long as necessary.
From 1 December 2026, entities will be able to apply to join the Government’s Digital ID system to verify users and customers.

FSC AML forms and Guidance Note
The FSC has completed the update of the joint FSC/FAAA AML customer identification forms and these are now available to members free of charge to support consistent and efficient implementation of the new rules.

The FSC and FAAA are currently updating FSC Guidance Note 24 Managing AML/FATCA and CRS Customer Identification Obligations to reflect the new regime and support use of the forms.

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OAIC Automated Decision-Making (ADM) transparency

The OAIC published an issues paper in May on the new Automated Decision-Making (ADM) transparency obligations, focusing on the scope of the definition of ADM and related disclosure requirements. The obligations were introduced through the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 and commence on 10 December 2026.

The FSC made a submission highlighting concerns about implementation timing, noting that final OAIC guidance is not expected until September 2026, leaving limited time for entities to operationalise the new requirements. The FSC has recommended either deferring commencement or, if this is not feasible, adopting a facilitative and educative regulatory approach during the initial implementation period.

The FSC also called for greater clarity on key threshold concepts including what constitutes “making a decision” and when a decision “significantly affects” an individual’s rights or interests. Of particular relevance to financial services is the treatment of straight-through processing and routine administrative automation, with the FSC seeking practical examples to distinguish these processes from ADM that should be subject to the transparency obligations.

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RG234 - Advertising financial products and services

In November 2025, ASIC consulted on updates to RG 234 – Advertising financial products and services (including credit) to reflect regulatory and enforcement developments since 2012 and incorporate relevant guidance from RG53, bringing ASIC’s advertising guidance into one place.

The FSC made a submission in January, and ASIC published its revised version of RG234 in June 2026. The revised guidance adopted a number of FSC recommendations, including:

expanding the definition of “promoter” to include lead generators;
expanding guidance on the use of click-through links;
strengthening guidance on headline fees, including that they should reflect investment, administration and transaction fees; and
clarifying expectations for keeping past performance data up to date.

The revised guidance took effect immediately from 10 June 2026.

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Unfair contract terms (UCT)

In 2022, amendments to the Australian Consumer Law and ASIC Act 2001 strengthened the UCT regime, with the changes commencing in November 2023 following a transition period. In early 2026, Treasury conducted a statutory review of the reforms, and the FSC made a submission in March 2026.

Treasury tabled its final report in June 2026, concluding that the reforms have been broadly successful in achieving their policy objectives. However, the report also identified areas where further guidance and regulatory tools could strengthen the framework, including several matters raised by the FSC.

Key findings include:

Additional guidance from ASIC and the ACCC would assist businesses in applying the amended provisions, including the standard form contract rules.
Current small business thresholds remain appropriate. Treasury recommends guidance on applying them to corporate groups and wholesale financial market participants, reflecting FSC concerns around counterparty and group structure verification.
Treasury does not recommend extending ASIC’s powers to completed contracts, consistent with the FSC’s position that the existing approach avoids unnecessary regulatory burden.
Civil penalties have increased compliance. Treasury recommends infringement notice powers for lower-level breaches to support more proportionate enforcement, alongside practical guidance and visible enforcement.
Treasury recommends a further statutory review in five years, allowing time for further regulatory experience, case law and judicial guidance to develop.

The report will inform future consideration of any further policy, regulatory or legislative changes to the UCT regime.

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Unfair Trading Practices Act

The Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Act 2026 passed both Houses on 1 July 2026 and received Royal Assent on 6 July 2026. It introduces a general prohibition on unfair trading practices under the Australian Consumer Law, commencing 1 July 2027.

The prohibition applies where conduct:

manipulates a consumer, or unreasonably distorts the environment in which a consumer makes, or is likely to make, a decision; and
causes, or is likely to cause, financial or non-financial detriment to the consumer.

Notably, the final legislation removed “unreasonably” from the “manipulates a consumer” limb, broadening its potential application.

The prohibition does not currently apply to financial products or services, which are primarily regulated under the ASIC Act 2001 and Corporations Act 2001. However, ASIC and the ACCC have supported extending equivalent protections to financial services, and Treasury has indicated that this remains under consideration, including consultation with states and territories.

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FSC STANDARDS

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FSC Standard 31 commences

In April 2026, the FSC released Standard 31 - Wrap Superannuation Platform Trustee Investment and Adviser Governance Principles: Standard and Better Practice Guidance. The Standard and guidance cover platform trustee responsibilities including initial due diligence of investment options, the ongoing monitoring of investment options, due diligence when onboarding licensees / advisers, and oversight of advice fee deductions.

The Standard officially commenced from 1 July 2026, with a six-month transition period before full compliance is required from 1 January 2027. FSC platform members cover an estimated 89% of total platform FUM and include the seven largest wrap platforms by market share.

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Repeal of FSC Standards and Guidance Notes

Effective from 22 June 2026 the FSC has repealed the following Standards and Guidance Notes:

Standard 21: Mental Health Education Program and Training
Standard 22 Cultural capability in Native Title Services
Standard 25: Life Insurance Industry Data Collection Policy
Standard 26: Consent for Accessing Health Information
Guidance Note 30: ESG Reporting Guide for Australian Companies
Guidance Note 32: HIV/AIDS Underwriting Guidelines
Guidance Note 44: Climate Risk Disclosure in Investment Management.

In addition, after considering the maturity of processes across industry and to promote continued development of best practice, the FSC has transformed existing Standards into the following Guidance Notes, effective from 22 June 2026:

Guidance Note 55: Voting Policy, Voting Records and Disclosure
Guidance Note 56: Principles of Internal Governance and Asset Stewardship.

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You are here: FSC HomeNewsPolicy UpdatesFSC Policy Update - Issue 91 - September 2026

FSC Policy Update - Issue 91 - September 2026

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO SHIELD AND FIRST GUARDIAN

Superannuation and platforms

Lead generation

Financial advice reform

Managed Investment Schemes

SMSFs

Compensation Scheme of Last Resort

PARLIAMENT, LEGISLATION & REGULATION

Budget CGT reforms

Government issues new Statement of Expectations for APRA and ASIC

Regulations supporting ban on superannuation advertising during employee onboarding registered

ASIC releases consolidated IDPS and IDPS-like schemes relief instrument

New rules for organisations sending text messages to customers: SMS Sender ID Register

Department of Finance commences statutory review of the Digital ID Act 2024

Foreign Financial Service Providers (FFSPs) - ASIC relief

Critical amendments to the merger reform framework

SUPERANNUATION

APRA announces upcoming consultation on investment governance standard

APRA announces 2026-27 Corporate Plan

APRA closes consultation on implementation of the Retirement Data Reporting Framework

APRA consults on proposed changes to Board Governance Framework

Government consults further on performance test reforms

Financial Institutions Supervisory Levies for 2026-27

APRA consults on minor updates to the prudential framework

APRA consults on proposed updates to superannuation reporting standards

APRA publishes findings of inaugural System Risk Stress Test

APRA sets out minimum expectations to strengthen industry readiness for geopolitical shocks

Updates to Labor Platform on superannuation at Australian Labor Party National Conference

APRA releases response to consultation on remaking Level 3 conglomerate standards

ADVICE

Delivering Better Financial Outcomes (DBFO) Tranche 2

FSC Advice Licensing White Paper

Financial Advice Education Standards

CSLR Operator announces revised CSLR levy estimate for FY27

ASIC review of compliance in the Managed Account Sector

ASIC Levy Cost Recovery Implementation Statement

ASIC consultation on net tangible assets (for responsible entities)

PLATFORMS

ASIC releases Report 833 Safeguarding super: How well are platform trustees monitoring risks to retirement savings?

INVESTMENTS

FSC releases new industry private markets standard and guidance note

RG97 review

Foreign investment framework - review of ineffective conditions

Enhanced beneficial ownership disclosure

ASIC pre-hedging guidance

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LEGAL, TAX & CROSS-PORTFOLIO

ASIC focus on lead generation

Minimum tax on discretionary trusts

Foreign Resident Capital Gains Tax reforms

Other Tax Expert Group issues

Deregulation and productivity agenda

Anti Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML / CTF)

OAIC Automated Decision-Making (ADM) transparency

RG234 - Advertising financial products and services

Unfair contract terms (UCT)

Unfair Trading Practices Act

FSC STANDARDS

FSC Standard 31 commences

Repeal of FSC Standards and Guidance Notes

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FSC Policy Update - Issue 91 - September 2026