The corporate regulator removed 150 people and businesses from the financial services, credit and company director systems in 2025-26, the highest number in five years and 42 per cent more than the year before.

The breakdown, released by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on Monday, has 87 individuals and businesses banned or restricted from providing financial services, 27 banned or restricted from credit, and 36 people disqualified from managing corporations. Of the financial services outcomes, 61 per cent were permanent bans or licence cancellations. In credit, 89 per cent were.

Fifteen of the banned advisers were connected to the collapse of the Shield Master Fund and the First Guardian Master Fund. Roughly 11,000 Australians put about $1.1 billion into those two funds, in most cases after being contacted by a lead generator, referred to an adviser, and told to roll an existing superannuation balance into a choice fund or a new self managed fund set up for the purpose. Fewer than 2,000 of them have lodged a complaint with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.

“Every banning order, licence cancellation and director disqualification removes a pathway for rogue operators to continue earning a living from misconduct," ASIC chair Sarah Court said. Court took the role on 1 June after four years as deputy chair, during which she led ASIC's enforcement work on both fund collapses.”

The bannings sit alongside the penalty figures ASIC published in July. The regulator secured $830 million in civil penalty orders across 2025-26 and says $644 million is being returned to Australians. Union Standard was ordered to pay $300 million over contracts for difference misconduct, HSBC $35 million over scam protection failures, Macquarie Securities $35 million over short sale misreporting, Walker Stores $33.5 million over unlawful credit practices, Westpac $26 million over hardship failures and Mercer Super $10.3 million over reporting failures. There were 25 criminal convictions, 11 of them prison sentences.

The $644 million ASIC says is being returned covers its entire 2025-26 remediation program. Shield and First Guardian alone took in about $1.1 billion.

The advisers behind those rollovers held licences when they gave the advice, and the rollovers went through regulated superannuation trustees. Every banning issued this year came after the money had gone. That sequence is why Treasury released two consultation papers in April on tightening the rules covering advice, rollovers and the products super funds are permitted to hold.

ASIC has also been working through the gatekeepers. It took administrative action against 36 approved self managed super fund auditors between January and June, taking its total actions against SMSF auditors for the financial year to 64.

Those consultations remain open. Every outcome counted in this year's enforcement figures happened under the rules they propose to change.