Key Takeaways
- • ASIC published a surveillance assessment on 10 November 2026 identifying "significant deficiencies" in Australia's private credit sector, based on a review of 24 funds with a credit strategy from November 2025 to August 2026.
- • ASIC found complex, multi-layered structures obscured exposures, fees and competing interests, and that economic benefits retained by fund operators or related parties were not always clearly disclosed to investors.
- • ASIC found higher portfolio concentrations in private credit funds were associated with an increased likelihood that advisers did not demonstrate compliance with the best interests duty.
- • ASIC acknowledged it still lacks a clear picture of the scale of private credit in Australia, a point the Reserve Bank of Australia had also made about a month earlier.
Summary
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) published a fresh surveillance assessment of the private credit sector on 10 November 2026, according to Banking Day, identifying what it described as "significant deficiencies" in how funds are run and sold. The review covered 24 funds with a credit strategy, primarily private credit funds, spanning both retail and wholesale offerings, conducted between November 2025 and August 2026. Banking Day noted that few of the reviewed funds have any public profile.
ASIC's findings centred on transparency and investor protection. It found that complex and multi-layered structures and arrangements obscured exposures, fees and competing interests. It also found that economic benefits generated by investor capital but retained by fund operators or related parties were not always clearly disclosed to investors. Some retail distribution practices, the regulator said, did not adequately communicate product risks or support informed decision-making. In addition, higher portfolio concentrations in private credit funds were associated with an increased likelihood that advisers did not demonstrate compliance with the best interests duty.
ASIC stated that the purpose of the surveillance was "to assess how these funds manage key risks that are critical to investor confidence and market operation." Banking Day observed that the regulator acknowledged it still has no real handle on the scale of private credit in Australia. The Reserve Bank of Australia had made a similar point roughly a month earlier. Banking Day suggested that improved regulatory data on the sector may follow, which would inform both regulators' work and public understanding.
ASIC's findings centred on transparency and investor protection. It found that complex and multi-layered structures and arrangements obscured exposures, fees and competing interests. It also found that economic benefits generated by investor capital but retained by fund operators or related parties were not always clearly disclosed to investors. Some retail distribution practices, the regulator said, did not adequately communicate product risks or support informed decision-making. In addition, higher portfolio concentrations in private credit funds were associated with an increased likelihood that advisers did not demonstrate compliance with the best interests duty.
ASIC stated that the purpose of the surveillance was "to assess how these funds manage key risks that are critical to investor confidence and market operation." Banking Day observed that the regulator acknowledged it still has no real handle on the scale of private credit in Australia. The Reserve Bank of Australia had made a similar point roughly a month earlier. Banking Day suggested that improved regulatory data on the sector may follow, which would inform both regulators' work and public understanding.
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