ASIC has delivered one of its strongest enforcement periods on record, securing major penalties and driving tens of millions in payments back to Australians in the first half of 2026.
From January to June 2026, ASIC secured court orders totalling $480 million# in civil penalties against major banks, super trustees, market participants and financial services firms, including Union Standard, HSBC, Westpac, Macquarie Securities, and Mercer Super.
Together with the $350 million ordered in the first half, ASIC's civil penalties orders now total $830 million for the 2025-2026 financial year.
In connection with ASIC's work, $644 million* is being paid back to Australians, including more than $61 million announced in the first half of 2026, on top of the $583 million announced between June and December 2025.
ASIC Chair Sarah Court said, '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.
'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.'
ASIC's criminal enforcement program also continues to deliver, with recent court outcomes and investigations achieving significant jail sentences holding those who broke Australia's financial services laws to account.
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.
Overall, there has been an uplift in ASIC's criminal convictions and custodial sentences with 25 criminal convictions, of these 21 were custodial sentences, including 11 individuals sentenced to imprisonment.
ASIC's enforcement and regulatory figures from July 2025 to June 2026 reveals:
- $830 million in civil penalties imposed by courts
- $643.5 million to be delivered back to tens of thousands of customers and investors as part of remediation, refunds, and payments in connection with ASIC's work
- ASIC launched more than 250 investigations
- 25 criminal convictions comprised of 21 custodial sentences (including 11 individuals sentenced to imprisonment) and four were non-custodial sentences
- 32 new civil proceedings were filed, 18 new criminal prosecutions commenced, and 25 criminal convictions were recorded against individuals
- $12 million in infringement notices and $137,315 in criminal fines.
Some of the major civil penalties follow ASIC's successful enforcement action against:
- Union Standard International Group was ordered to pay a record $300 million penalty for serious contracts for difference (CFD) misconduct and failures affecting retail investors
- HSBC Bank Australia admitted scam protection failures, with ASIC securing a $35 million penalty. Macquarie Securities was ordered to pay a $35 million penalty for systemic failures that led to the misreporting of millions of short sales and inaccurate market data.
- Westpac was ordered to pay a $26 million penalty for widespread failures in responding to customer hardship requests
- Walker Stores (Snaffle) was ordered to pay a $33.5 million penalty for unlawful credit practices that overcharged consumers almost $20 million in excess interest
- Mercer Super was ordered to pay $10.3 million in penalties for systemic reporting failures, including failing to report significant breaches to ASIC
In connection with its work, ASIC also:
- ASIC secured nearly $40 million in refunds to CFD investors
- Following ASIC's investigation, HSBC has established a large-scale remediation program that, to date, has paid around $21.5 million in compensation, with further payments to come before the end of July 2026. HSBC has also recovered $6.5 million and returned those funds to customers.
'ASIC has delivered record penalties and strong criminal outcomes, but enforcement is not just about punishment. It is about detecting misconduct sooner, preventing harm where we can, and securing remediation for those affected,' the Chair said.
'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.'
Background
#The figure of $480 million reflects civil penalties ordered by courts between 1 Jan 2026 and 30 June 2026. It does not include proposed or agreed civil penalties that remain subject to court approval in 2026.
*The figure of $644 million reflects announcements in the reporting period in connection with ASIC's work. Payments may occur before or after the reporting period and totals may be updated as programs progress.
ASIC Media Release outlining penalties secured:
- 26-136MR ASIC secures $10.3 million in penalties against Mercer Super for systemic reporting failures
- 26-126MR $35 million penalty sought as HSBC admits to scam protection failures, and implements compensation plan
- 26-117MR Federal Court orders record $300 million penalties in ASIC's case over 'egregious' Union Standard and CFD operator misconduct
- 26-107MR Federal Court orders Westpac to pay $26 million penalty for hardship failures
- 26-099MR Federal Court orders $33.5 million penalty against Snaffle operator for inflating prices and overcharging on credit contracts
- 26-084MR Federal Court orders Money3 to pay $1.55 million penalty for responsible lending breaches
- 26-097MR ASIC appeals $7 million penalty in Cigno Australia, BSF Solutions, and directors' case
- 26-068MR Electro Optic Systems Holdings ordered to pay $4 million penalty for continuous disclosure breaches
- 26-055MR Binance Australia Derivatives ordered to pay $10 million penalty for onboarding failures causing millions in client trading losses
- 26-050MR Supreme Court orders Macquarie Securities to pay $35 million penalty in short sale misreporting case
ASIC Media Releases outlining remediation back to customers
- 26-004MR ASIC secures nearly $40 million in refunds to investors and drives change after CFD sector falls short
- 26-127MR Federal Court orders $35 million penalty against HSBC for scam protection failures
