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The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has secured a record $830 million in court-ordered civil penalties for the 2025-26 financial year, an eightfold increase on the $104.1 million imposed in the prior year and a sharp escalation in the corporate regulator's enforcement posture.
The record haul comprised $349.8 million in penalties handed down in the second half of 2025 and $480 million in the first half of 2026, with ASIC also revealing that $644 million had been returned to consumers through remediation, refunds and related payments over the same period.
The $480 million in penalties from January to June this year came from actions against major banks, super trustees, market participants and financial services firms, including Union Standard, HSBC, Westpac, Macquarie Securities, and Mercer Super.
The single largest penalty was a $300.2 million order against Union Standard International Group and its former authorised representatives EuropeFX and TradeFred for systemic unconscionable conduct in the contracts for difference market.
Union Standard entered voluntary administration in July 2020, with liquidators appointed two months later, but in handing down the decision against the company Federal Court Justice Wigney described the conduct as "egregious, deliberate and flagrant".
Other major penalties included $250 million against ANZ, $35 million each against HSBC and Macquarie Securities, $33.5 million against Walker Stores trading as Snaffle, $26 million against Westpac, $23.5 million against Cbus, and $10.3 million against Mercer Super.
"Our enforcement work is focused on misconduct that causes real harm and we are delivering results, forcing change, strengthening accountability, and returning money to consumers and investors," says ASIC chair Sarah Court.
"We are pursuing cases that expose serious failures in systems, governance and conduct, from scams and hardship failures to market infrastructure, superannuation, private credit, financial reporting and digital assets."
Former ASIC chair Joe Longo, who led the regulator during the second half of 2025, had earlier described ASIC as "one of the most active law enforcement agencies in the country", citing a 50 per cent increase in investigations and a 20 per cent increase in civil proceedings during FY25.
On the criminal enforcement front, ASIC recorded 25 convictions in FY26, including 11 sentences of imprisonment.
In May, former Sydney fund manager Rodney Forrest was resentenced by the Full Federal Court to five years and three months jail imprisonment for a $3 million insider trading scheme involving Platinum Asset Management shares.
Former financial advisor Anthony Torre was sentenced in January to six years in prison for fraud involving the misappropriation of superannuation funds.
Remedy Housing officials Brent Smith, Mahmoud Khodr, and Fue Mano were sentenced to lengthy prison in March for dishonesty offences.
The $644 million returned to consumers spanned remediation programs, refunds and court-ordered compensation.
"ASIC has delivered record penalties and strong criminal outcomes, but enforcement is not just about punishment," says Court.
"It is about detecting misconduct sooner, preventing harm where we can, and securing remediation for those affected.
"Our focus is on protecting investors, returning money where possible, and holding lawbreakers to account.
"Where we see serious harm or risks to market integrity, we will act quickly and use the full range of regulatory and enforcement tools available to us."
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