Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) outgoing chair Joe Longo is calling for a complete ban on unlicensed communications about superannuation.
In a speech to the Financial Counselling Australia Conference in Cairns today, which was his last as ASIC chair, Longo called out “unscrupulous actors” exploiting the funds in the superannuation system through what the regulator suspects is industrial-scale misconduct, acknowledging everyday Australians who signed up for a free super check may have instead lost their life savings.
“We must disrupt the lead-generation model that has enabled this conveyer belt of consumer harm to occur. One way to do it, from my personal view, and something the government I know is consulting on, would be to ban unlicensed communications about superannuation,” he said.
As superannuation is often one of the biggest assets somebody accumulates during their lifetime, those talking about it should be appropriately qualified, he noted.
“We wouldn’t let someone perform heart surgery just because they’ve watched a lot of ER – therefore we shouldn’t let people who aren’t qualified lure Australians into losing their life savings and turn a profit from it,” he indicated.
In this financial year, ASIC has secured more than $411 million in penalties and has also seen about $421 million returned to investors in connection with its investigations into the Shield Master Fund and First Guardian Master Fund collapses.
Longo also pointed out artificial intelligence (AI) has turbocharged online threats and the advent of agentic AI would only see further increases in these threats.
“We need to continue to provide trusted sources of guidance because people risk being exploited by these new technologies,” he explained.
“The goal of lifting the financial capability within the community is one we share. The Minister [for Social Services Tanya Plibersek] mentioned the importance of agency – that’s got to be the fundamental strategy.”
