Australian regulators are planning to focus on possible misconduct in the private credit sector, among a handful of other new enforcement priorities in 2026.
On Wednesday, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) unveiled its enforcement targets for the year ahead. They include new topics, such as poor private credit practices, financial reporting misconduct and complaint handling failures in the insurance sector, alongside existing concerns, such as investigating and prosecuting illegal insider trading, auditor misconduct and predatory credit practices.
“Our 2026 enforcement priorities reflect emerging risks like those in private credit, as well as the challenges Australians face while contending with higher living costs,” said Sarah Court, deputy chair of the ASIC, in a release.
“In line with our increased surveillance across private credit, we won’t hesitate to take enforcement action to stamp out misconduct in the sector so we can support confident and informed participation, investor protection and market integrity,” she said.
In addition to its new focus on private credit, the ASIC highlighted its plan to step up enforcement against financial reporting failures.
“Reliable financial information remains more important than ever, particularly as entities with unlisted assets, such as super funds and private credit funds, play a bigger role in the economy,” Court said.
She also noted that the ASIC is undertaking more investigations, and taking more cases to court.
“In the last 12 months, we’ve doubled the number of new investigations and nearly doubled the number of new matters filed in court. We’ve also worked hard to increase our criminal prosecutions, and seen lengthy sentences imposed for financial fraud offences,” she said.