On 17 March 2026, the Australian Treasury published the Building a Stronger and Fairer Super System Act 2026 – Draft Regulations (Draft Regulations) that supplement the Treasury Laws Amendment (Building a Stronger and Fairer Super System) Act 2026 (the Amending Act) and the Superannuation (Building a Stronger and Fairer Super System) Imposition
On 12 March 2026, the Australian Treasury issued tranche 1 exposure draft legislation intended to modernise the regulatory framework for payment service providers (PSPs).
Background
Several reviews, including the 2021 Review of the Australian Payments System, have found that the regulatory architecture for PSPs in Australia is no longer fit for purpose. Such
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