Treasury has released a consultation paper, Enhancing oversight and governance of managed investment schemes, proposing changes to the governance and oversight framework for registered managed investment schemes (MISs) that are accessed by retail investors.

Following the collapses of MISs, including the Shield Master Fund and First Guardian Master Fund ASIC published reports reviewing the regulation of fund managers in Australia.

See Bright Law’s video summary of the lessons from ASIC’s reports about fund managers and relevant regulatory guides.

ASIC will release a consultation paper in early 2026 seeking feedback on options for potentially increasing the net tangible assets requirement for responsible entities of MISs.

Treasury’s proposals for consultation are to:

1. Strengthen the regulatory framework for compliance:
   1.1. Introduce stricter compliance plan requirements, such as requiring a detailed
   description of the nature of the scheme and its investment strategy, and information
   outlining how significant risks will be identified, monitored and managed,
   1.2. Amend the liability framework for compliance plans, such that liability attaches only
   to material contraventions of a plan, to incentivise higher quality plans,
   1.3. Make existing audit and assurance standards mandatory for auditors of compliance
   plans, and
   1.4. Require responsible entities to notify ASIC of the appointment, removal or
   resignation of committee members.
2. Require responsible entities of registered MISs to have a majority of external directors and
   remove the option of having a mandatory compliance committee instead.
3. Prohibit responsible entities of registered MISs from conducting related party transactions,
   with limited exceptions.
4. Amend the framework for setting financial requirements for responsible entities, such as
   setting more specific requirements.
5. Increase ASIC’s data collection powers on the retail MIS sector.
6. Alerts to ASIC about superannuation switching.

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Author: David Jacobson
Principal, Bright Corporate Law
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About David Jacobson
The information contained in this article is not legal advice. It is not to be relied upon as a full statement of the law. You should seek professional advice for your specific needs and circumstances before acting or relying on any of the content.