Treasurer taps ASIC as government gears up for recovery agenda

By Fergus Halliday

August 27 2021
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The federal government is looking to bring ASIC on-side as part of its economic recovery agenda.

Treasurer taps ASIC as government gears up for recovery agenda

As the conversation about the COVID-19 recovery churns on, the Morrison government has issued a Statement of Expectations outlining priorities for the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).

“A strong and effective ASIC is essential for the efficient operation of Australia’s financial and corporate sectors for the benefit of households and businesses,” said federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.

The last time the federal government issued this sort of statement to ASIC was in April 2018.

Mr Frydenberg said the newly issued statement makes it clear that the government expects ASIC to contribute and support the Commonwealth’s own agenda of supporting Australia’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Specifically, the statement called out the need to minimise the cost and burdens of regulatory requirements while also promoting competition, innovation and the digital economy.

More broadly, the statement indicated that the government expects ASIC to work closely with it on the implementation of policy reforms and in its exercise of policy-related functions.

ASIC has issued their own Statement of Intent in response, confirming that the organisation intends to contribute to the federal government’s economic goals and COVID pandemic recovery.

“While ASIC will act independently in carrying out our regulatory functions and making regulatory decisions, we remain committed to working with government, Treasury and other regulators.”

“We will consult with government and Treasury on our policy-related functions,” ASIC said.

The regulator took the opportunity to call out their ongoing information-sharing arrangement with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and pointed to their recently released Corporate Plan, which outlined their specific priorities over the next four years.

“We will use our full suite of regulatory tools in a targeted and proportionate way, to identify and reduce the risk of misconduct in the markets and sectors we regulate,” ASIC pledged.

This exchange of promises between ASIC and the federal government follows the appointment of Joseph Longo as the regulator’s new chair.

Speaking at a function earlier this year, Mr Longo emphasised the long-term importance and benefits of a stronger financial system, but acknowledged that the challenges of implementing industry reforms have been made more difficult as a result of COVID-19 and renewed lockdowns.

“We want to ensure the reforms are successfully implemented – and that means we will continue to work with industry, and build on the efforts by industry associations and individual licensees in preparing for these reforms,” he said.

About the author

Fergus Halliday

Fergus is a journalist for Momentum Media's nestegg and Smart Property Investment. He likes to write about money, markets, how innovation is changing the financial landscape and how younger consumers can achieve their goals in unpredictable times.

About the author

Fergus Halliday

Fergus is a journalist for Momentum Media's nestegg and Smart Property Investment. He likes to write about money, markets, how innovation is changing the financial landscape and how younger consumers can achieve their goals in unpredictable times.

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