ASIC Consults on Public Dashboards for Reportable Situations and Dispute Resolution Data

As part of its commitment to enhance transparency and accountability, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has proposed to publish interactive dashboards containing industry and firm-level data on Reportable Situations (RS) and Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR).  

ASIC Commissioner Alan Kirkland said the publication of firm-level data would strengthen public confidence in the financial system. 

“Publishing Reportable Situations and Internal Dispute Resolution data will encourage firms to lift their game,” he said. “It also provides consumers and investors access to this data at firm level, further encouraging confident and informed participation in the financial system.” 

Overview of the Proposal 

Under the proposal, ASIC will exercise its legislative powers to publish data reported under the RS and IDR regimes through two interactive dashboards. These dashboards will present firm-level data, including the name and licence number of each licensee (unless the licensee is an individual), and will be filterable by factors such as root cause, number of customers affected, and investigation timeframe. Some of the data will be available for download, though ASIC has not yet confirmed which elements. 

Data Elements to be Published 

For Reportable Situations, ASIC proposes to publish data covering: 

• Information about the licensee; 
• Volume, nature, and impact of breaches; 
• Breach identification and investigation; 
• Remediation and rectification actions; and 
• Reporting practices. 

For IDR data, the published information will include: 

• Details of financial firms; 
• Complainant demographics; and 
• Complaint categories and characteristics. 

RS data will be published annually, while IDR data will be released biannually. ASIC has confirmed it will not independently verify the data submitted by firms; responsibility for accuracy and timely updates will rest with licensees. 

Scope of the Proposals 

Separately, earlier this year, ASIC consulted on proposed relief to the Reportable Situations regime, which proposes to exempt licensees from reporting certain breaches where: 

• The breach is rectified within 30 days from when it first occurred, including payment of any remediation; and 
• No more than five consumers are affected; and 
• The total financial loss or damage to all impacted consumers is $500 or less; and 
• The breach is not a contravention of client money reporting rules or clearing and settlement rules. 

NIBA Response 

NIBA provided a response to ASIC’s consultation, emphasising the importance of de-identifying data to protect individual privacy, ensuring accuracy through a formal review period, and enabling reporting entities to correct errors. 

NIBA’s submission also raised concerns about the treatment of complaints received by brokers that relate to the conduct of product issuers, warning that this could misrepresent broker performance.  

NIBA also recommended greater contextual clarity in data presentation, such as differentiating between licensee roles, accounting for firm size, and exercising caution when publishing sensitive information, including compensation data and demographic details. 

Click here to read NIBA’s submission.

The publication initiative aligns with ASIC’s Corporate Plan 2024–25, which commits the regulator to delivering better consumer outcomes through increased transparency. The shift to firm-level publication represents a significant development in ASIC’s data strategy, replacing the thematic reports issued in previous years with dashboards that are interactive, filterable, and more informative for stakeholders.