In brief
Following the substantial feedback provided in response to ASIC’s discussion paper, ‘Australia’s evolving capital markets: A discussion paper on the dynamics between public and private markets’ (Discussion Paper) on 10 June 2025, ASIC announced its first improvement to the IPO process and held a symposium at which two panels, comprising of ASIC officers and industry participants, discussed the themes from the ASIC Discussion Paper submissions. ASIC also gave some clues as to next steps for its regulatory approach in these areas.
Submission themes
The Discussion Paper was designed to prompt industry debate on the changing dynamics between Australia’s public and private markets, the possible implications of this and the required regulatory response. We consider the Discussion Paper in more detail in our articles, ‘ASIC scrutiny of private markets and the continued role of public markets’ (available here), ‘If it ain’t broke? What ASIC’s review means for private markets and deals’ (available here) and ‘ASIC Public and Private Markets Discussion Paper – Our submission’ (available here).
ASIC received numerous submissions and summarised the main themes of the submissions as follows:
- industry feedback was mixed on whether the decline in IPOs was structural or cyclical, with most submissions accepting some structural elements and recognising that global private markets have experienced a significant and structural trend;
- public markets play a critical role in Australia’s economy and regulatory changes would improve and enhance their attractiveness;
- private markets, including private credit, also provide investors and issuers with an important and complementary function in the efficiency of Australia’s economy;
- superannuation is a mature and structural influence in Australia’s markets and investments, and its regulatory environment should account for that;
- ASIC requires more thought as to how it can practically and effectively collect data and improve the transparency of private markets, including in dimensioning the market itself and learning from international practices.
ASIC has released select submissions, including our submission, and provided a more detailed summary of the submissions on its website (available here). A high-level summary of our submission is also available here.
The issues raised in the submissions were discussed by two panels at the ASIC symposium. The first comprised of Joseph Longo (Chair, ASIC), Dr Raphael Arndt (Future Fund), Professor Carole Comerton-Forde (University of Melbourne) and Guy Fowler (Barrenjoey Capital Partners). The second comprised of Simone Constant (Commissioner, ASIC), Matthew Michelini (Apollo), Jason Collins (BlackRock) and Peter Warne (UniSuper, Virgin). Key points which the panels discussed were:
- ASIC’s openness to actionable ideas — Joe Longo affirmed ASIC’s commitment to improving the regulatory settings of Australia’s capital markets by emphasising the regulator’s openness to ideas and change within its remit.
- Growth of index funds and passive investors — The influence index funds and passive investment strategies have had on public markets, and that further consideration needs to be given to this.
- Short-termism of public markets — A concern that public markets (and hence listed companies in response to shareholder and media pressure) often focus on short-term returns at the expense of longer-term growth, and the need to encourage listed companies to pursue longer-term growth and strategic initiatives (which is seen to be a benefit of private markets).
- Improving data and transparency — Whilst ASIC is not in a rush to regulate private markets, they have outlined data reporting and transparency as a key focus area for them moving forward. This received some support from panel members, on the basis that it will give investors more confidence in private markets and help provide insights into any systemic risks to the financial system, but others cautioned against too much regulation and the practicalities involved in seeking data on private market transactions (given the sheer volume of information involved).
Some key points of agreement include:
- Regulation is not the determinative (or only) issue for recent public market declines — The recent decline in net-listings is not necessarily caused by public market regulation alone (although the panel members had differing views on the contribution of regulation). Rather, the abundance of private capital provides companies and directors with more choice as to how they want to raise capital.
- Private markets are here to stay — The panels (including ASIC) acknowledged the growing importance of private markets and emphasised the need to engage with them productively.
- Regulatory opportunity in Australia — As investors seek to diversify away from heavy US exposure, Australia is well placed to attract global investment by fostering transparent and accessible markets and maintaining consistent regulation.
ASIC’s next steps
As flagged above, at the symposium, ASIC Chair, Joe Longo, spoke to ASIC’s seriousness about improving regulatory settings for public markets, including by acting on actionable ideas within its powers, working with other regulators such as ASX where those other regulators can make their own improvements and potentially also discussing law reform with Treasury.
In this context, Joe Longo announced that ASIC will be releasing:
- in Q3 this year – a report responding to submissions in relation to public markets and its proposed improvements to regulatory settings;
- in Q4 this year – a similar report with respect to private markets.
Joe Longo also referred to the improvement to the IPO process ASIC announced (discussed further below), and foreshadowed there was “more coming” where change was “in ASIC’s gift”.
ASIC’s recent changes to the IPO process
Uncoincidentally, on the same day as ASIC’s symposium, ASIC showcased its commitment to improving the attractiveness of Australia’s listings environment by announcing a two-year trial designed to shorten the IPO process, whereby:
- ASIC will informally review pathfinder disclosure documents on a confidential basis two weeks prior to public lodgement, in order to reduce the risk of exposure period extension; and
- ASIC has provided a no-action position, allowing issuers under IPO prospectuses to accept applications during the exposure period.
There are certain conditions for this trial, including that the entity must be eligible for the ASX Fast Track application process. We discuss this trial in more detail in our article, ‘Australian Securities & Investments Commission clears path for faster IPOs’ (available here).
Given that we specifically recommended reducing the "on risk" period for issuers and underwriters in our submission, including by reducing the exposure period, we welcome this initiative by ASIC and commend its quick turnaround from recommendation to action.
We eagerly await its upcoming reports.
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