The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) published a progress report on its regulatory simplification program today (Tuesday), claiming a 380% rise in forms available for electronic lodgement and a target of pushing 90% of paper-only forms online by the end of June.
The agency said the digital shift has already eliminated about 45,000 paper lodgements a year. Report 830 builds on REP 813, the September 2025 consultation that drew 44 industry submissions.
Email Lodgement Jumps as 88 Forms Move Online
ASIC said email lodgement expanded from 23 to 58 forms across 2025, then added 30 more in April 2026 for a total of 88. Coverage now extends to over 70% of paper-only forms.
In May 2025, the agency launched a digital dashboard for Australian Financial Services license applications, pre-filling data and cutting duplicate uploads.
A redesigned website went live in June 2025, with more than 280 form landing pages rewritten. ASIC said it received over 1,500 user responses and plans to test AI-assisted search in 2026.
ASIC Chairman Joseph Longo said the agency was prioritizing reforms expected to deliver the largest reduction in compliance load.
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"We have listened to feedback through our extensive engagement with the regulated community and will continue to explore opportunities to remove barriers within our control," Longo commented.
The simplification track runs parallel to ASIC's enforcement work, which produced a record A$349.8 million in civil penalties in the second half of 2025.
Reportable Situations Relief Widens After Industry Pushback
Many submissions singled out the reportable situations regime as overly burdensome. ASIC raised the trigger for reporting investigations from 30 days to 60 days for AFS and Australian credit licensees in June 2025.
The agency also exempted firms from reporting certain misleading and deceptive conduct breaches. The change follows earlier moves to ease breach reporting for minor matters that cause no consumer harm.
Separately, ASIC will halve the internal dispute resolution reports small banks lodge each year, dropping the count from two to one per entity. A no-action position applies now, with formal systems changes due by 2027.
Wider Regulator Rewrite Puts ASIC in Familiar Company
ASIC is not alone. The UK Financial Conduct Authority published its first Regulatory Priorities report on February 24, 2026, consolidating more than 40 portfolio letters into nine sector documents under its Smarter Regulatory Framework. The FCA has allocated £13.4 million to the program in 2026/27.
In Europe, ESMA last year said MiFID II disclosure rules were pushing retail investors out of capital markets and may support simplified rules for non-complex products. ASIC's roadmap pilots most closely resemble the FCA's nine-sector consolidation.
Roadmaps Land for Advisers and Small Companies
ASIC said feedback on pilot regulatory roadmaps was mixed, with respondents asking for embedded links and legislative cross-references. Revised versions for small company directors and financial advice providers are due by the end of June 2026.
The advice-focused version arrives as Australian advisers absorb January 2026 qualification rules and as the regulator continues to consult on digital asset licensing ahead of a June 30 cutoff for unlicensed crypto firms.
ASIC and APRA are also working through duplicate data requests under the Council of Financial Regulators agenda. Longer-term plans, including director ID linking by July 2027 and the so-called Digital Front Door, remain subject to government funding.
