A speech by Greg Medcraft, Chairman,
Australian Securities and Investments Commission

Australian Centre for Financial Studies Workshop, ‘Can codes of conduct restore trust and warranted accountability?’, King & Wood Mallesons, Sydney

14 September 2017

Introduction

Good morning everyone…

To contribute to today’s discussion I want to give you a conduct regulator’s perspective on codes of conduct.

At ASIC, we think codes of conduct can deliver real benefits to both consumers and code subscribers.

I personally have been a real supporter of increased co-regulation and self-regulation.

However – and I want to be very clear about this – codes:

• should not be considered a substitute for strong legislative obligations, backed by a strong regulator; and
• the effectiveness of a code will depend on the capacity and commitment of the relevant industry sector.

To unpack this for you, I want to talk about three things today:

1. How codes of conduct can help promote trust and confidence in an industry sector.
2. The industry characteristics required for a code to be effective.
3. ASIC’s approach to code approval.

• Read the full speech (PDF 134KB)