Opening statement by ASIC Chief Operating Officer Warren Day at the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity, 21 February 2022.

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Chair, I am Warren Day, Chief Operating Officer of the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) and with me is my colleague Mr Zack Gurdon, Chief Risk Officer at ASIC and together we appear for the Commission today.

As you know, since 1 January 2021, ASIC (along with the ATO, APRA and ACCC) is within the jurisdiction of the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI). 

ASIC Senior Executives in consultation with ACLEI have established protocols for how ACLEI should be notified of corruption issues related to ASIC’s law enforcement activities to comply with the obligations of the LEIC Act.

We have worked closely with the ACLEI and the Integrity Commissioner, Commissioner Jaala Hinchcliffe, and in fact had the opportunity for Commissioner Hinchcliffe to speak to our Commissioners and Senior Executives at an internal ASIC forum in December 2020, just prior to the ACLEI’s jurisdiction over ASIC’s enforcement activities commencing.

In relation to ASIC’s internal protocols to meet our obligations, the Chief Risk Officer oversights these protocols through ASIC’s ACLEI Notification Procedures, which includes ASIC’s (internal) Integrity Committee supporting the Chair on matters that may require notification to ACLEI.

Further, ASIC has established both formal and informal liaisons with ACLEI.

ASIC’s CRO and Commission Counsel attend a monthly standing meeting with our dedicated contacts at Senior Operational and Executive levels of ACLEI, while ASIC’s Chair and the Integrity Commissioner also meet periodically.

We have open lines of communication and access to Senior Operational and Executive staff at ACLEI to get advice when matters come to light or to respond to requests or questions.

ASIC’s principle investigation team members (PSU, Security, and Integrity) attend ACLEI’s Community of Practice on a quarterly basis.

Accordingly, we believe since the commencement of the ACLEI’s oversight of ASIC in January 2021 and given the efforts I have just covered, we have developed a strong working relationship and platform between our agencies to ensure our response to possible corruption issues is effective and timely. We will continue to work collaboratively with ACLEI and explore how we can enhance our own corruption prevention practices.

Notifications made by ASIC

From 1 January 2021 to 15 February 2022 six matters have been formally notified to ACLEI by ASIC; this includes three additional notifications since submissions were published. We also note that ACLEI has also received referrals from other sources, including members of the public.

While there have been some minor delays caused by issues of interpretation of the LEIC Act and the complexity of the matters referred as both ASIC and ACLEI grapple with the new processes – ASIC has not experienced lengthy delays in processing notifications.

ASIC has not been the subject of any ACLEI led or joint investigations to date and therefore cannot comment on the length of time taken or any delays, in respect of such processes.

With that overview concluded Chair we are here to assist the Committee with any questions they may have.