Reports of misconduct data
We are releasing data on reports of misconduct we receive from the public separate from the ASIC annual report.
We welcome reports and tip-offs from the public about possible financial services misconduct, as these reports help ASIC detect misconduct. We are unable to act on every report we receive – we receive a high volume and not all reports fall within our jurisdiction. It is important to note that we do not resolve complaints, intervene in disputes, provide legal advice, or help recover money. We use the data to identify patterns, trends, and broader systemic problems that inform whether they may require our intervention.
This edition covers the six-month period from 1 July 2025 to 31 December 2025 (current period). It includes:
- the number and nature of reports of misconduct
- the key themes of misconduct
- a breakdown of reports by subcategory
- examples of reports of misconduct and tip-offs, and
- factors that determine whether we take action.
If you would like to report misconduct to ASIC, please visit Reporting misconduct to ASIC.
We received 9,686 reports of misconduct between 1 July 2025 and 31 December 2025.
Number and nature of reports of misconduct
Below is a summary of the number and nature of reports of misconduct we received in the current period, compared to 1 January to 30 June 2025 (previous period).
Reports within ASIC jurisdiction and require closer examination by ASIC
| Percentage of reports | Number of reports | Nature of the report |
|---|---|---|
| 19%
▼ Was 28% in previous period |
1,879 ▼ 12% decrease from previous period |
Scam related conduct. ASIC has shut down an average of 130 investment scam websites each week. |
| 17%
▼ Was 19% in previous period |
1,628 ▲ 12% increase from previous period |
Prioritised for further assessment and consideration based on ASIC’s priorities in the Corporate Plan |
| 10%
▼ Was 13% in previous period |
1,007 ▲ 2% increase from previous period |
Requests from external administrators for assistance in obtaining books and records or reports on company activities and property (ROCAP). |
Reports within ASIC jurisdiction and considered for future use, including trend identification
| Percentage of reports | Number of reports | Nature of the report |
|---|---|---|
| 40%
▲ Was 32% in previous period |
3,899
▲ 62% increase from previous period |
Reviewed and recorded for intelligence – outside ASIC priorities; or remedies such as internal and external dispute resolution available. |
Reports outside of ASIC jurisdiction
| Percentage of reports | Number of reports | Nature of the report |
|---|---|---|
| 11%
▲ Was 6% in previous period |
1,030
▲ 111% increase from previous period |
Conduct falling outside of ASIC’s jurisdiction. |
| 3%
▲ Was 1% in previous period |
243
▲ 167% increase from previous period |
Reports that do not identify possible misconduct. |
Note: We have rounded percentages in these tables to whole numbers.
28% increase in reports received in the current period, compared to the previous period. In June 2025 we updated the ASIC website, making it easier for people to lodge an online report of misconduct. This contributed to the increase in the number of reports received.
425 reports raised issues that also appeared in other reports of misconduct. We considered these reports together.
181 reports were of direct assistance to existing ASIC surveillance or investigation cases and we therefore incorporated them into those surveillance or investigation cases.
Key themes of misconduct
Figure 1 sets out the key themes that we detected in the reports of misconduct.
| Category | Number of issues identified in reports of misconduct received (current period) | Number of issues identified in reports of misconduct received (previous period) |
|---|---|---|
| Financial services and retail investors | 5714 | 5909 |
| Corporations and corporate governance | 5217 | 3819 |
| Market integrity | 446 | 367 |
| Registry integrity | 486 | 285 |
| Out of jurisdiction | 1173 | 680 |
We have provided a brief description of each theme below:
- Financial services and retail investors – includes credit issues, general licence obligations, unregistered managed investment schemes, unlicensed provision of financial services conduct, and other conduct related to advice, insurance, and misleading and deceptive or unconscionable behaviour.
- Corporations and corporate governance – includes fraud allegations, corporate governance issues, registered liquidator conduct, insolvency matters, shareholder issues, reporting issues and failure to provide books and records on company activities and property to registered liquidators.
- Market integrity – includes insider trading, continuous disclosure, misleading statements or market manipulation.
- Registry integrity – includes an incorrect address recorded on ASIC’s register, lodging false documents with ASIC and issues with business names.
- Out of jurisdiction – includes reports outside ASIC’s jurisdiction.
Further breakdown by category of theme
Two categories (‘Financial services and retail investors’ and ‘Corporations and corporate governance’) account for 88% of all the reports of misconduct we received (44% and 40%, respectively). We have provided a further breakdown into subcategories in Figures 2 and 3.
Note: One report may raise multiple themes, meaning the number of themes recorded will be larger than the number of reports received.
As market integrity and registry integrity each account for 4% or less of all the reports of misconduct we received, we have not broken down those categories any further.
| Category | Number of reports |
|---|---|
| Operating an unregistered managed investment scheme or providing financial services without an Australian financial services (AFS) licence (including scams) | 2128 |
| General licence obligations | 1554 |
| Credit issues | 1233 |
| Other | 799 |
Total: 5,714 reports of misconduct
| Category | Number of reports |
|---|---|
| Governance issues | 1810 |
| Failure to provide books and records or reports on company activities and property to registered liquidator | 1007 |
| Other (e.g. shareholder issues and reporting issues) | 1124 |
| Insolvency matters | 450 |
| Registered liquidator conduct | 274 |
| Fraud allegations | 552 |
Total: 5,217 reports of misconduct
Note: We have rounded percentages in these figures to whole numbers.
Highlights
In the current period, issues accepted by ASIC for further consideration (covering surveillance, compliance, investigation or administrative actions) included:
- credit issues, including fees and charges, responsible lending, misleading and deceptive conduct, fraud and unlicensed credit activity
- financial services conduct, including about advisers, misleading and deceptive conduct, fraud and unlicensed services
- concerns about auditors of self-managed superannuation funds
- reports from insolvency practitioners about acts, usually by directors, designed to deny creditors of a company access to assets in winding up (creditor defeating dispositions)
- entities failing to lodge their financial reports
- insolvency practitioner conduct
- requests to wind up abandoned companies, providing employees with access to the Fair Entitlements Guarantee for unpaid entitlements, and
- failures to apply for a director identification number.
Examples of reports of misconduct and tip-offs
We welcome reports of misconduct and tip offs. Below are three examples of the types of misconduct referred to ASIC for assessment and possible investigation. These examples are based on actual reports we received in the current period. Note that we have changed names to protect privacy.
- A director transferred the business of their company to a new company, one day before appointing a liquidator. The business had an estimated value of $325,000, but the new company only paid a few hundred dollars for it. The liquidator reported the transfer to ASIC.
- Julie was worried that an unlicensed entity was targeting First Nations communities. The entity was encouraging these consumers to purchase consumer goods on payment plans.
- Susan worked for a company for four years before it abruptly shut its doors, leaving her with unpaid employee entitlements of $22,000. There has been no communication from the directors in the last six months, they have not appointed external administrators and they appear to have abandoned the company.
Factors that determine whether we take action
We record all the reports we receive to assist regulatory and enforcement actions. We identify and consider those reports that allege misconduct within ASIC’s priorities and jurisdiction. If the report of misconduct meets these criteria, we escalate for further assessment.
The factors we consider in assessing a report from the public are set out in Information Sheet 151 ASIC’s approach to enforcement (INFO 151) and include:
- issues causing significant harm to consumers, markets or our financial system
- matters involving significant public interest or concern, or where action will benefit the public
- issues specific to the case, such as the nature and impact of the misconduct, the age of the conduct, whether it is repeated or continuing, and what evidence may be available to support any action, and
- whether alternatives to formal investigation by ASIC are more appropriate and available.
While we cannot take action on every report, reports remain on our database and we use them when additional information becomes known about the conduct identified.
For more information on how to report possible financial services misconduct to ASIC, please visit Reporting misconduct to ASIC.
Previous periods
1 January 2025 to 30 June 2025
This edition covers the six-month period from 1 January to 30 June 2025 and includes:
- the number and nature of reports of misconduct
- key themes of misconduct
- a breakdown by subcategory, and
- examples of reports of misconduct and tip-offs.
7,561 reports of misconduct were received from 1 January 2025 to 30 June 2025.
Number and nature of reports of misconduct
Below is a summary of the number and nature of reports of misconduct from 1 January to 30 June 2025.
Reports within ASIC jurisdiction and require closer examination by ASIC
| Percentage of reports* | Number of reports | Nature of the report |
|---|---|---|
| 28% | 2,139 | Scam related conduct. ASIC has shut down an average of 130 investment scam websites each week. |
| 19% | 1,451 | Prioritised for further assessment and consideration based on ASIC’s priorities in the Corporate Plan |
| 13% | 987 | Requests from external administrators for assistance in obtaining books and records or reports on company activities and property (ROCAP). |
Reports within ASIC jurisdiction and considered for future use, including trend identification
| Percentage of reports* | Number of reports | Nature of the report |
|---|---|---|
| 32% | 2,406 | Reviewed and recorded for intelligence – outside ASIC priorities; or remedies such as internal and external dispute resolution available. |
Reports outside of ASIC jurisdiction
| Percentage of reports* | Number of reports | Nature of the report |
|---|---|---|
| 6% | 487 | Conduct falling outside of ASIC’s jurisdiction. |
| 1% | 91 | Reports that do not identify possible misconduct. |
*Note: As the data is not shown to 6 decimal points, there is a 1% rounding adjustment.
- 815 reports raised issues that were also mentioned in other reports of misconduct, with these reports considered together.
- 73 reports were of direct assistance to existing ASIC surveillance or investigation cases and were therefore incorporated into those surveillance or investigation cases.
Key themes of misconduct
Below are the key themes that ASIC detected in the reports of misconduct.
Figure 1: Key themes in reports of misconduct (period 1 January 2025 to 30 June 2025)
| Category | Number of issues identified in reports of misconduct received |
|---|---|
| Financial services and retail investors | 5,909 |
| Corporations and corporate governance | 3,819 |
| Market integrity | 367 |
| Registry integrity | 285 |
| Out of jurisdiction | 680 |
A brief description of each theme is provided below:
- Financial services and retail investors – includes credit issues, general license obligations, unregistered managed investment schemes, unlicensed provision of financial services conduct, and other conduct related to advice, insurance, and misleading and deceptive or unconscionable behaviour.
- Corporations and corporate governance – includes fraud allegations, corporate governance issues, registered liquidator conduct, insolvency matters, shareholder issues, reporting issues and failure to provide books and records on company activities and property to registered liquidators.
- Market integrity – includes insider trading, continuous disclosure, misleading statements or market manipulation.
- Registry integrity – includes an incorrect address recorded on ASIC’s register, lodging false documents with ASIC and issues with business names.
- Out of jurisdiction – includes reports outside ASIC’s jurisdiction.
Further breakdown by category of theme
The two categories financial services and retail investors and corporations and corporate governance account for 53% and 35% of Reports of Misconduct received by ASIC respectively. We have provided a further breakdown into subcategories in figure 2 and 3.
Note: One report may raise multiple themes, meaning the number of themes recorded will be larger than the number of reports received.
As market integrity and registry integrity each account for three per cent of Reports of Misconduct received, the categories were not broken down any further.
Figure 2: Key themes within the financial services and retail investors category (period 1 January 2025 to 30 June 2025)
| Category | Number of reports |
|---|---|
| Operating an unregistered managed investment scheme or providing financial services without an Australian financial services (AFS) licence (including scams) | 2,343 |
| General licence obligations | 2,102 |
| Credit issues | 860 |
| Other | 604 |
| Total | 5,909 |
Figure 3: Key themes within the corporations and corporate governance category (period 1 January 2025 to 30 June 2025)
| Category | Number of reports |
|---|---|
| Governance issues | 1,243 |
| Failure to provide books and records or reports on company activities and property to registered liquidator | 987 |
| Other (e.g. shareholder issues and reporting issues) | 786 |
| Insolvency matters | 346 |
| Registered liquidator conduct | 202 |
| Fraud allegations | 255 |
| Total | 3,819 |
Highlights
In the last six months, issues accepted by ASIC for further consideration, covering surveillance, compliance, investigation or administrative actions, included:
- credit issues, including responsible lending and unlicensed credit and financial services conduct
- auditor concerns for self-managed superannuation funds
- insolvency practitioner conduct
- governance issues
- fraud allegations, and
- failures to apply for a director identification number.
Examples of reports of misconduct and tip-offs
ASIC welcomes reports of misconduct and tip offs. Below are three examples of the types of misconduct referred to ASIC for assessment and possible investigation. These examples are based on actual reports ASIC received from 1 January 2025 to 30 June 2025. Note, the names have been changed to protect privacy.
- Joan’s financial adviser obtained her signature on various investment documents. Joan suffered from dementia and did not fully understand the documents, which contained high fees.
- Ken entered into a hire purchase arrangement for a used car. The credit provider was unlicensed. Ken fell into financial hardship and discovered the contract contains terms that he believes are unfair. The high penalty fees charged were not disclosed to Ken.
- Gary received an unexpected email from an investment bank, offering a lucrative investment opportunity. He downloaded software, which gave the ‘investment adviser’ control over his device. Gary lost $1,900 to the scam before becoming suspicious and reporting the matter.