meta_id 3202125

On June 2026, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced a proposal to streamline 17 financial reporting and auditing relief instruments into two consolidated instruments as part of its ongoing regulatory simplification initiative. The two draft instruments are the ASIC Corporations (Annual and Half-year Reporting) Instrument 2026/XXX (the draft Financial Reporting Instrument) and the ASIC Corporations (Auditing) Instrument 2026/XXX (the draft Auditing Instrument). The consolidation aims to simplify the regulatory landscape by reducing complexity and making relief provisions easier for users to understand and navigate. The proposal responds to stakeholder feedback received during a consolidation pilot, as outlined in ASIC's Report 813 Regulatory Simplification and Report 830 Regulatory Simplification Progress Report. The draft Financial Reporting Instrument consolidates 14 existing instruments covering areas including reporting by stapled entities, parent entity financial statements, natural person licensees, foreign-controlled company reports, directors' report relief, electronic lodgement of financial and sustainability reports, and non-reporting entities. The draft Auditing Instrument consolidates three existing instruments, including the ASIC Corporations (Audit Relief) Instrument 2016/784, ASIC Corporations (CCIV Auditors) Instrument 2024/668, and ASIC Corporations (Auditor Independence) Instrument 2021/75, while removing certain requirements from the 2016/784 instrument. ASIC is seeking stakeholder feedback on the draft instruments to refine the proposals before finalisation. Submissions should be sent to rri.consultation@asic.gov.au by 5pm Australian Eastern Standard Time on July 10, 2026. The draft instruments are available at ASIC's Consultation Statement 54 Proposed Consolidation of Financial Reporting and Auditing Instruments.