Asic Gives Up on Corporate Law Enforcement

As Senate ASIC hearings resume, the Senate Economics Committee has released new data from the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecution, confirming that ASIC is going backwards.

The data reveals a significant decrease in the number of cases being referred to the CDPP by ASIC. In the 2018-19 FY, ASIC made 86 referrals, compared to 41 referrals in the 2022-23 FY. So far for the current financial year, ASIC has only made 2 referrals.

These figures signal that ASIC has made Australia a haven for white-collar crime. ASIC has given up on their sole obligation to enforce corporate law.

Moreover, the CDPP disclosed that during the same period the rate of prosecutions initiated from ASIC referrals plummeted from 75% to 19%.

These are ugly statistics.

With public hearings for the Senate’s ASIC Inquiry resuming today, we will gain a clearer understanding of why ASIC has become such an inept corporate regulator.

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