3 February – 3 March 2026
ESG is changing the landscape for financial institutions as stakeholders, including investors, increasingly expect them to make their operations more sustainable.
Financial services regulators also view ESG as a priority, embedding the principles of climate-related financial risks into their supervisory frameworks and dealing with greenwashing issues.
There is
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)has announced it will undertake a public consultation on proposed enhancements to the prudential framework for authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs),with a focus on capital adequacy and liquidity requirements. The proposed reforms are intended to strengthen the resilience of Australia’s banking sector.
APRA has confirmed it will
On 23 February 2026, the Australian Treasury issued guidance on best practice principles for superannuation retirement income solutions (the Principles).
Background
Registrable superannuation entities (trustees) have a legal obligation under the Retirement Income Covenant (Covenant) to have a retirement income strategy that assists members in and approaching retirement
On 13 February 2026, the Australian Treasury (Treasury) published a consultation paper on a proposed sustainable investment product labelling regime. Treasury is seeking stakeholder feedback on the design of a framework intended to improve transparency and comparability for financial products marketed as “sustainable” or similar, including for managed funds and within the superannuation
Introduction
ESG is changing the landscape for financial institutions as stakeholders, including investors, increasingly expect them to make their operations more sustainable.
Financial services regulators also view ESG as a priority, embedding the principles of climate-related financial risks into their supervisory frameworks and dealing with greenwashing issues.
There is limited uniformity in regulation as financial
On 10 February 2026, the Australian Treasury (Treasury) published a consultation paper titled Enhancing oversight and governance of managed investment schemes which seeks feedback on proposals to strengthen governance, compliance and regulatory oversight of registered managed investment schemes (MISs) in Australia.
Background
Approximately $2 trillion is currently invested in MISs, with
On 4 February 2026, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) published a media release noting that it is urging superannuation trustees to strengthen their anti-scam and fraud practices following a review that exposed significant gaps in member communications.
ASIC’s findings
ASIC assessed scams and fraud-related website content across 47 superannuation funds and
On 28 January 2026, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced that it is inviting feedback on a proposal to extend existing relief for superannuation trustees from certain application form and cooling-off period requirements during intra-fund transfers.
Current relief and sunsetting
ASIC Corporations (Superannuation: Accrued Default Amount and Intra-Fund Transfers) Instrument 2016/64
On 27 January 2026, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) published its Key Issues Outlook 2026 (2026 Outlook).
Overview
ASIC is tracking significant shifts across Australia’s financial system as pressures on consumers, markets, and businesses intensify. The regulator has identified various system-wide forces that cut across all sectors it regulates
On 19 December 2025, the Albanese Government published, as part of its Better Targeted Super Concessions policy, the Treasury Laws Amendment (Better Targeted Superannuation Concessions) Bill 2025 and the Superannuation (Better Targeted Superannuation Concessions) Imposition Bill 2025. Together these Bills reduce the tax concessions for people with total super balances over $3 million by imposing