Record fines against banks and super funds reach $830 million despite recovery concerns
Banks, super funds and financial services firms have been hit with a record $830 million in court-ordered fines for misconduct in the last 12 months; The corporate watchdog has vowed to continue taking legal action against major companies causing “real harm”.
The penalty bill for the 2025-26 financial year follows heavy fines imposed on firms including HSBC, Westpac, Macquarie Securities, Mercer Super and Union Standard since January. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has reached the fines milestone despite suffering a significant defeat in its March lawsuit against the Star Entertainment board over management failures at the casino operator.
But critics say it’s unlikely the full $830 million fine will be recovered. This is because the huge $300 million fine imposed on Union Standard for systematically unscrupulous behavior affecting retail investors is unlikely to be reversed as the company has been in liquidation for six years.
“We are pursuing cases that reveal serious failures in systems, management and conduct, from fraud and nuisance failures to market infrastructure, superannuation, private credit, financial reporting and digital assets,” ASIC Chairman Sarah Court said.
Other significant fines include: $35 million against HSBC Bank Australia, which admitted failings in its fraud protection; Macquarie Securities paying $35 million for systemic errors that led to misreporting of millions of short sales and inaccurate market data; and Westpac paying $26 million for widespread failures to respond to customers’ distress requests.
ASIC said it had launched more than 250 investigations throughout 2025-26.
Additionally, it secured the recovery of $644 million in refunds, compensation and other recovery payments to tens of thousands of Australian customers and investors after they were harmed by the misconduct of various companies.
In addition to the fines imposed by the Federal Court, ASIC’s legal proceedings resulted in 25 criminal convictions, including 11 prison sentences.
In May, a Federal Court panel upheld the prison sentence of former Sydney fund manager Rodney Forrest over a $3 million insider trading scheme.
In January, former Perth financial advisor Anthony Torre was sentenced to six years in prison for fraud that involved stealing more than $1 million of his clients’ retirement savings. In March, three officials from Remedy Housing were jailed on fraud charges related to the promotion of interest-free mortgages.
“Our enforcement efforts focus on abuses that cause real harm, and we deliver results, pushing for change, strengthening accountability, and returning money to consumers and investors,” Court said.
The Court, which took over the presidency from Joe Longo in June, said the practice was “not just about punishment” but was also about “detecting abuses earlier, preventing harm where possible and securing recovery.”
“Our focus is on protecting investors, returning money where possible, and holding those who break the law accountable. When we see serious harm or risks to market integrity, we will act quickly and use all regulatory and enforcement tools at our disposal,” Court said.
University of Sydney corporate law professor Jason Harris said the headline figures reported by ASIC in this year’s enforcement report were positive and reflected the regulator being “increasingly active”.
But Harris said a total of $830 million in fines must be paid based on the fact that the $300 million order against Union Standard was unlikely to be paid.
“It must be said that this company has been in liquidation for the last six years and I think there is little or no chance of the $300 million being recovered,” he said.
Harris said some might question why ASIC was “taking action against a company that is already dead”, but the courts making such harsh findings had a real chilling effect.
More generally, Harris said ASIC found itself in a position with too broad a regulatory responsibility and was struggling to enforce cases in a timely manner.
ASIC, in framing the $644 million in funds returned to affected customers and investors, said that if it had the resources to act more quickly (in some cases the first complaints were made years before ASIC intervened) “there may have been no need to improve”.
“ASIC has too much work to do and not enough resources… This means it is not adequately testing the law in new areas that threaten the economy,” Harris said.
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Elias Visontay is the National Consumer Affairs Reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.
