On 14 November 2024, ASIC announced its enforcement priorities for 2025 (2025 priorities).  

ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court explained that the 2025 priorities “reflect the increased risks consumers are facing that are being driven by cost of living pressures’ and ‘are about protecting Australians from financial harm and targeting the people who try to take advantage of them”.

While the 2025 priorities apply across all industries, the superannuation sector is firmly in the spotlight. 

The enforcement priorities for each year reflect emerging issues and risks which ASIC prioritises to detect, investigate and prosecute unlawful conduct affecting consumers, businesses and the economy.

In 2025, ASIC’s enforcement priorities will include a number of focus areas that will specifically impact the superannuation industry. ASIC will be focussing its enforcement activities on: 

• misconduct exploiting superannuation savings
• member services failures in the superannuation sector
• greenwashing and misleading conduct involving ESG claims
• licensee failures to have adequate cyber-security protections
• strengthening investigation and prosecution of insider trading.

While there has been a slight change in the wording of some of the above priorities compared to ASIC’s enforcement priorities for 2024, some of the current year’s priorities do not feature in the 2025 priorities:

• enforcement action targeting poor distribution of financial products
• compliance with the reportable situation regime. 

Enduring priorities

In addition to its yearly enforcement priorities, superannuation funds would already be familiar with ASIC’s enduring enforcement priorities. To recap, those of most relevance to the superannuation sector are:

• misconduct damaging market integrity
• misconduct impacting First Nations people
• misconduct involving a high risk of significant consumer harm particularly conduct targeting financially vulnerable consumers
• systemic compliance failures by large financial institutions resulting in widespread consumer harm
• new or emerging conduct risks within the financial system
• governance and directors’ duties failures.

ASIC’s enforcement outcomes 

Reflecting on the last year, Ms Court indicated ASIC had increased its new investigations by 25% on the previous year. ASIC also increased new civil proceedings by 23% and had important enforcement outcomes across different areas including greenwashing, unfair contracts and design and distribution. Of particular note, ASIC currently has more matters before criminal courts than it does before civil courts.

Ms Court highlighted numerous enforcement outcomes, including record civil penalties obtained against superannuation funds in the last year in the area of greenwashing, as a reflection of ASIC’s ongoing focus on conduct in the superannuation sector. Ms Court highlighted ASIC’s enforcement action launched in the last week against a major superannuation fund for systemic claims handling failures affecting over 10,000 members claiming for death benefits and TPD insurance.

In relation to member service failures, there are proceedings on foot against several superannuation funds concerning issues ranging from intra-fund consolidation of accounts, speed of internal dispute resolution processes and the efficiency with which claims for death and disability claims are processed.

Separately, ASIC has foreshadowed the prospect of enforcement proceedings being brought in the next year against superannuation funds in connection with the retirement income covenant. 

APRA’s focus

In parallel to ASIC’s priorities, APRA is enhancing its focus on fund expenditure and compliance with the best financial interests duty.

Key takeaways 

For 2025, Ms Court relevantly warned that ASIC will “target conduct that exploits superannuation savings, with a particular focus on unscrupulous property investment schemes".

In comments in a panel session at the ASIC Annual Forum, Ms Court made clear ASIC’s view that directors of superannuation trustees will be held to no lesser standard of conduct to directors of corporations generally. 

Notably, in response to a question to the panel regarding the impost on member balances of civil penalties imposed on superannuation trustees, Ms Court’s messages were that trustees should expect to be treated no differently to other large financial institutions, it was a matter for trustees to have suitable policies in place in relation to reserves for penalties that may be imposed and that enforcement action seeking civil penalties were taken for their deterrent effect across the sector. 

In light of the 2025 priorities and Ms Court’s remarks at the ASIC Annual Forum, superannuation trustees are clearly on notice and should prepare for increased focus and scrutiny on conduct issues in the superannuation sector, including more investigatory activities and regulator inquiries.