ASX priorities in focus at the SIAA2026 Conference
Provided by ASX
The “Ask ASX” plenary session at the SIAA2026 Conference gave market participants a rare opportunity to hear directly from senior ASX leaders on the priorities, pressures and decisions shaping Australia’s financial markets. Against a backdrop of heightened regulatory scrutiny, the discussion centred on ASX’s broad transformation agenda.
In the session, outgoing CEO Helen Lofthouse and Andrew Jones, Acting Group Executive Securities and Payments, outlined how ASX is balancing immediate delivery with longer-term reform as it works to maintain confidence in its critical market infrastructure. Below are the seven focus areas for ASX.
Continuity during leadership transition
One of immediate areas of focus for ASX is maintaining continuity through the current leadership transition. Recent transformation efforts have focused on resetting strategy, investing more deeply in capability, and strengthening foundations across technology, risk and culture. At the same time, the findings of the recent ASIC inquiry continue to shape ASX’s agenda, particularly around pace of execution, accountability and engagement with stakeholders. With a new chief executive due to start later in the year, it’s essential to maintain momentum and keep the organisation focused on delivery and disciplined execution.
Responding to the ASIC Inquiry Panel
On 2 April 2026, ASIC published the Inquiry Panel’s Final Report into ASX. In response, ASX is progressing a comprehensive plan following the conclusion of the Inquiry as it moves to the next phase of its transformation.
ASX is committed to implementing its Commitments Plan, which includes strengthening governance and enhancing the independence of the clearing and settlement facilities, conducting a strategic reset of the Accelerate Program, uplifting leadership capability, and meeting the additional $150 million capital charge imposed by ASIC. The reset of the Accelerate Program is to be agreed with ASIC and the RBA by 30 June 2026.
The Final Report provides a critical assessment of where ASX has fallen short and highlights areas where further reform is required across governance, delivery and organisational culture.
The Final Report also acknowledged progress in a number of areas, including strengthened governance and independence of clearing and settlement facilities, changes to leadership and board composition, a reset of the Accelerate Program with improved risk management and regulatory engagement, and steps to build additional capital and resilience. The conclusion of the Inquiry represents a key turning point for ASX, with a focus on implementing the Commitments Plan and progressing the next phase of its transformation.
Competitiveness, listings and capital formation
The competitiveness of Australia’s public markets and ASX’s role in supporting capital formation also remain central. There is continuing strength in market activity and listings, even in volatile conditions. In the financial year-to-date, the number of new listings has increased approximately 50% on FY25, while total capital raised has increased by approximately 35%. Looking ahead, the IPO pipeline remains deep and high quality, with nine $1 billion+ companies expected to list through the remainder of 2026.
Strong cash and derivatives volumes point to the role exchanges play in helping customers manage risk, while the IPO pipeline and secondary raisings underline the relevance of public markets as a source of capital, liquidity and price discovery. ASX is continuing to invest in platform capability, refine market settings and ensure Australia remains an attractive venue for issuers and investors. Public markets are seen not only as a commercial proposition, but as a broader public good that supports growth, innovation and wealth creation across the economy.
CHESS modernisation
The successful delivery of CHESS Release 1 was an important milestone in the modernisation of post-trade infrastructure. It marks the start of a more modern, secure and resilient platform that can support future innovation across multiple applications. Over the next 12 months, ASX expects to build on that platform through initiatives including Trade Accept, a new customer digital platform, the first implementation of new APIs and the replacement of the derivatives clearing platform. Work is also continuing on CHESS Release 2, with a focus on simplification and innovation across settlements, ledger, corporate actions, payments and registries. The broader view is that modernisation must be carefully sequenced and developed in close partnership with industry, with resilience and usability built in from the outset.
Strengthening market confidence
Another focus is the steady refinement of market settings to ensure Australia’s listed market remains efficient, trusted and globally competitive. That includes work to modernise listing rules, review shareholder approval requirements for mergers and acquisitions, and refresh the Corporate Governance Principles so they are more practical and relevant to today’s operating environment. Reform should reduce unnecessary friction while preserving strong protections for shareholders and market integrity. Pricing transparency in clearing and settlement also sits within this wider confidence agenda, with emphasis on published policy settings, clearer links between costs and service outcomes, and accountability to customers and regulators. Together, these reforms strengthen trust in Australia’s market architecture while making it more responsive to change.
Creating the exchange of the future
Beyond CHESS itself, there is a broader question about how market infrastructure will continue to evolve. Global developments such as faster settlement cycles, extended trading models, tokenisation, digital currencies and more dynamic risk management are shaping how exchanges think about the future. ASX’s approach is measured, exploring which of these developments can genuinely improve efficiency, resilience and confidence in an Australian context while recognising the need to work within existing market structures and regulatory expectations. For ASX, infrastructure reform is about identifying where those technologies can deliver tangible benefits to customers and the broader market without compromising trust, stability or oversight.
Balancing delivery with long-term reform
Across all of these issues, the clearest message is that ASX is balancing long-term reform with immediate delivery. Whether the focus is CHESS, governance, competition, listings settings or future infrastructure, the emphasis is on disciplined execution, stronger engagement and restoring confidence through action. Rather than relying on any single initiative as a silver bullet, ASX is pursuing a broad program of interrelated work to make market infrastructure more resilient, markets more competitive and regulatory relationships more constructive. The result is a clear picture of ASX’s next phase: continuing to modernise, listening closely to stakeholders and delivering reforms that support both market integrity and future growth.
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