Govt, Green Senators back less oversight of ASIC, APRA

Government and Greens Senators sitting on a key parliamentary committee have sought to downplay concerns about watering down the frequency of regulatory oversight of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).

The attitude of the Government and Greens Senators have been lambasted by the Coalition members of the committee as insensitive in the context of the Shield and First Guardian failures.

The Labor and Greens members of the Senate Economic Legislation Committee signed off the changes contained in the Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Financial Systems and Other Measures) Bill 2025 claiming that while the reviews of the two regulators by the Financial Regulator Assessment Authority (FRAA) would be less frequent, they would be more thorough.

The final committee report said that while the committee noted the concerns raised by submitters, it was “satisfied that the reduction in review frequency will be balanced by the more thorough and comprehensive reviews of ASIC and APRA which will be produced by the FRAA over this longer review timeframe”.

“The extended review timeframe will also allow more time for ASIC and APRA to implement changes suggested by previous FRAA reviews and for these changes to filter through to the industries they regulate,” it said.

In a dissenting report, Federal Opposition Senators said the Coalition is “deeply concerned about Labor’s decision to dilute the accountability framework established in response to the recommendations of the 2018 Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry”.

“The Royal Commission found that ASIC and APRA required more frequent and more robust scrutiny to ensure they fulfilled their obligations to the public and exercised their powers in line with the law and community expectations,” the dissenting report said noting that the Royal Commission outlined the need for reviews into the regulator to be handed to the relevant minister biennially”.

“Reducing the review cycle directly contradicts the purpose of the FRAA, which was established to strengthen independent oversight and improve regulator performance. Instead, the Bill weakens the regime at a time when regulatory performance is under serious question.

“It is unacceptable that this proposal has been put forward at a moment when serious regulatory failures have occurred, including the First Guardian and Shield matters, which have resulted in more than 12,000 Australians losing over $1 billion in retirement savings while the regulator’s response has been called into question,” the dissenting report said.

“The human consequences have been severe. Families have lost life savings and older Australians approaching retirement have seen decades of contributions evaporate. Trust in the superannuation system has fractured.

“In this environment, reducing oversight of ASIC and APRA is both irresponsible and insensitive to the experiences of Australians affected by regulatory failure.”