ASIC’s financial reporting enforcment campaign - what should companies and directors should take from ASIC's recent action

Between August 2025 and August 2026, ASIC announced 27 infringement notices totalling $5,213,400 and three court-imposed fines totalling $1,170,000 for financial reporting and related officeholder breaches. The distinction matters: payment of an infringement notice is not an admission of guilt or liability, whereas the court-imposed fines followed conviction.

ASIC’s campaign has focused on statutory financial reporting obligations under Chapter 2M of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), principally the obligation under section 319(1) to lodge annual financial reports. Its surveillance has targeted both late lodgement and non-lodgement.

Most outcomes below are infringement notices, not court-imposed fines. ASIC's consistent wording is that payment of an infringement notice is not an admission of guilt or liability, and the companies are not regarded as having been convicted of the alleged offence. Three companies were convicted and fined during the period covered. The two categories are therefore presented separately and should not be conflated.

Penalties for adjacent regulatory reporting obligations — for example breach reporting to ASIC, or derivative transaction reporting — fall outside this scope and are not included.

Court-imposed fines

On 17 March 2026, three public companies were convicted and fined a combined $1,170,000 in a single day at the Downing Centre Local Court. ASIC announced the outcome on 1 April 2026 (26-058MR). Failure to lodge full-year financial reports is a breach of ss 319(1) and 1311(1) of the Corporations Act; failure to meet minimum officeholder requirements breaches ss 201A(2), 204A(2) and 1311(1).

Infringement Notices

ASIC has issued 27 infringement notices totalling more than $5 million for alleged financial reporting breaches since commencing its surveillance in August 2025. The six announcements below account for all 27 notices.

Further Detail

Penalty amounts and indexation

The two infringement notice amounts reflect penalty unit indexation rather than different offences. Contravention of s 319(1) is an offence of strict liability. Based on the penalty units applicable before 1 July 2025, the maximum penalty a court could impose was $375,600 per offence; infringement notices for strict liability offences are issued at half the maximum, giving $187,800. Following indexation the figure became $198,000. Penalty units were subject to further indexation on 1 July 2026, so amounts for later contraventions will be higher again.

Discrepancy in release 26-111MR

ASIC's headline for the Zara / H&M / Sephora matter states $596,000, but the three notices it itemises are $198,000 each, totalling $594,000. The itemised figure has been used in this document. The $594,000 figure is also what reconciles to ASIC's stated cumulative total of more than $5 million across 27 notices.

Companies that lodged without penalty

The companies penalised are a narrow subset of those ASIC contacted. In release 25-298MR, ASIC stated that it engaged with 217 companies and alleged that 70% (151) were non-compliant for failing to lodge a financial report for one or more of FY23 and FY24. Following ASIC's queries, 103 companies lodged financial reports and a further 41 were in the process of doing so. ASIC named all 103 companies in a table in that release without penalising them, and expressly cautioned that inclusion on that list should not be taken as ASIC having broader concerns about a company's compliance arrangements or culture. That table is a useful supplementary source if a fuller exposure picture is required.

Investigations and further action

• ASIC has stated it has a number of open investigations into alleged non-lodgement and late lodgement of financial reports, and that enforcement action will continue.
• For companies that paid an infringement notice but still had outstanding financial reports, ASIC has stated its investigation remains open.
• ASIC has indicated it intends to take further action against some companies covered by the 25-298MR surveillance, including some still in the process of lodging.
• Separate civil proceedings were commenced in the Supreme Court of NSW in June 2025 against three GFG Alliance group companies — Liberty Primary Metals Australia Pty Ltd, Tahmoor Coal Pty Ltd and Liberty Bell Bay Pty Ltd — for failure to lodge annual financial reports. Those proceedings sought orders to lodge rather than fines (25-141MR).

Who must lodge

A proprietary company is classified as large, and therefore has lodgement obligations, if it meets at least two of the following for a financial year: consolidated revenue of $50 million or more; consolidated gross assets of $25 million or more; or 100 or more employees. Other entities with lodgement obligations include public companies, registered managed investment schemes, registrable superannuation entities, and small proprietary companies controlled by a foreign company. Lodgement is generally due within four months of financial year end; disclosing entities and registered schemes generally have three months.

This publication summarises publicly reported regulatory outcomes. It is not legal advice. Companies and directors should confirm their particular reporting obligations and obtain advice where required.