Australia’s Securities and Investments Commission removed or restricted 87 firms and individuals from providing financial services during the 2025-26 financial year, a fifty percent jump from 58 the previous year. Administrative enforcement actions reached 150, up from 105, with seventy-seven resulting in permanent bans or cancellations affecting 31 individuals and 46 organizations. ASIC Chairwoman Sarah Court emphasized these administrative powers can be deployed faster than court proceedings, allowing the regulator to cancel licenses without formal litigation.
CFD providers faced particular scrutiny, with ASIC’s review of 52 issuers returning forty million Australian dollars to investors through administrative intervention alone. This comes alongside ASIC’s record 830 million dollar civil penalty haul, where contracts for difference accounted for roughly one-third of fines. Director disqualifications more than doubled to 36 from 14, with eighteen receiving the maximum five-year term. The spike reflects ASIC’s increasingly aggressive stance compared to European regulators on retail derivatives enforcement.
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FXnCO Insight
** Licensed entities operating in Australia should prepare for heightened regulatory scrutiny and faster administrative action that can shut down operations without court involvement.
Source: Finance Magnates