More money for ASIC for MIS data

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor and Publisher

12 May 2026

Cost recovery is the order of the day in the Budget as it seeks to address some of the gaps identified by the collapse of the Shield and First Guardian funds.

The Budget papers reveal how the Government will fund measures to avoid a repeat of the Shield and First Guardian experiences noting that the Government will provide $17.8 million over four years from 2026–27 (and $1.4 million per year ongoing) to strengthen governance requirements, supervision and enforcement in relation to managed investment schemes, including:

• $10.3 million in 2026–27 for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to enhance its ability to utilise data in its supervision of the managed investment scheme sector.
• $7.6 million over four years from 2026–27 (and $1.4 million per year ongoing) for ASIC, the Office of the Australian Auditing and Assurance Standards Board and the Treasury to strengthen governance requirements for managed investment schemes
• consulting publicly on new data collection powers in relation to managed investment schemes. ASIC will partially meet the cost of this measure through cost recovery.

“The Government is also publicly consulting on options to strengthen the superannuation performance test to remove any unintended barriers to investment and ensure it remains fit for purpose,” the Budget papers said.