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ASIC secured A$349.8 million in court-ordered civil penalties for 1 July-31 December 2025 (its highest six-monthly total at that point) and a record A$830 million in court-ordered civil penalties for the 2025-26 financial year overall, including A$480 million for 1 January-30 June 2026.
Outlook
Cyber resilience and scam controls are now established conduct obligations with direct financial consequence; expect continued enforcement activity as the ePayments Code, CPS 230 and the incoming AFSL perimeter combine to raise the compliance bar for both bank and non-bank payment providers.
Legal & Litigation
ASIC's enforcement record showed sustained intensity across two consecutive reporting periods. The regulator secured approximately A$349.8 million in court-ordered civil penalties for the second half of 2025, which it described as the highest six-monthly total in the agency's history. That pace continued into the following financial year: ASIC's results for 2025-26 show a full-year total of A$830 million in court-ordered civil penalties and orders, of which A$480 million was secured between January and June 2026, alongside A$644 million returned to Australians over the same financial year.
Outlook
The consecutive record totals across H2 2025 and FY2025-26 point to enforcement capacity that has been sustained rather than concentrated in a single reporting spike, and the first half of 2026 alone already matched a large share of the prior full-year record. Whether this pace is maintained into the next reporting period is the figure to watch, given it would confirm a structural increase in enforcement intensity rather than a one-off result.
1 earlier update recorded under a different module label
An early cycle filed this entry under this module code with a heading naming another subject. Kept for the record; not this module's latest position.
Digital Currency & Tokenisation
No standalone W7 CBDC or tokenisation developments were identified for Australia this cycle. The Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Act 2025 (W1b) is the primary digital-asset regulatory development this cycle; its commencement on 8 April 2027 will embed digital-asset licensing concepts within the AFSL framework, which has indirect relevance to tokenised-asset and stablecoin operators.
Outlook
The Digital Assets Framework Act commencement in April 2027 is the primary W7-adjacent horizon item. No RBA CBDC consultation or pilot development was identified this cycle.
1 further periodic run re-emitted the standing brief unchanged and is not shown.
Sources and findings (4)
- T3https://iclg.com/news/hsbc-australia-hit-with-hefty-penalty-over-scam-protection-failings/retrieved
- T1https://www.asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2026-releases/26-021mr-asic-action-sees-fiig-securities-ordered-to-pay-2-5-million-over-cyber-security-failures/retrieved
- T3https://www.thelawyermag.com/au/practice-areas/banking-and-finance/federal-court-slaps-14m-penalty-on-company-behind-crypto-product-qoin/563826retrieved
- T1https://www.asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2026-releases/26-032mr-asic-secures-record-350-million-in-civil-penalties-and-583-million-back-to-australians-in-second-half-of-2025/retrieved