Funds Update - 18 September 2026

In this Funds Update for 18 September 2026:

1. ASIC seeks feedback on future access to information on companies register
2. ASIC remakes qualified accountants instrument

ASIC seeks feedback on future access to information on companies register

On 11 September 2026, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) released Consultation Paper 391 which seeks feedback on the scope of information that should be made available on the companies register and who it should be made available to.  

ASIC is seeking to provide businesses, the public and government with the information they need, while improving safety and security for individuals identified in registry data. The proposed settings would keep core company information broadly available while restricting sensitive personal information to verified users. 

ASIC is also proposing to make more information available for free, including officeholders' names and status (current or ceased), director ID numbers and whether a director has confirmed their director ID.

The proposal sets out access settings for types of company information across four main categories of users:

• general access, 
• company access – that is, information about a company that is only available to that company, its officeholders and its authorised representatives,
• business access – that is, access for registered liquidators, legal practitioners and journalists, and 
• government access. 

From 1 July 2027, an officeholder’s year of birth, residential locality and service address would be available to all registry users (but not included in the free general access extract.)  Residential address and birth information would be restricted to certain business users.

ASIC expects the new access settings to be fully implemented from 1 August 2028, following a transition period during which companies can update officeholders’ service addresses so that their residential addresses remain restricted. 

Submissions may be made to [email protected] until 5.00 pm on 12 October 2026.

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ASIC remakes qualified accountants instrument

ASIC has remade a legislative instrument declaring which members of professional bodies are recognised as ‘qualified accountants’ for the purposes section 88B Corporations Act and issuing certificates that allow a person to be treated as a wholesale client or sophisticated investor. 

The new instrument, ASIC Corporations (Qualified Accountant) Instrument 2026/734, is substantively the same as the previous instrument, providing that certain members of the CPA Australia, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, the Institute of Public Accountants and certain foreign professional bodies are recognised as qualified accountants.

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