ASIC Annual Forum 2025
Program schedule
9.00 am to 9.05 am
Official welcome
James Thomson, Senior Chanticleer columnist, AFR (Forum Facilitator)
Nic Fildes, Australia and Pacific Correspondent, FT (Forum Facilitator)
9.05 am to 9.10 am
Welcome to Country
Uncle Tony Garvey, Wurundjeri Elder, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation
9.10 am to 9.20 am
Opening address
Joe Longo, Chair, ASIC
9.20 am to 10.00 am
Keynote
Mike Burgess AM, Director-General of Security, ASIO
10.00 am to 11.00 am
Plenary session 1: State of the economy
Join ASIC Chair Joe Longo, Australian Statistician Dr David Gruen AO, CEO of the Future Fund Dr Raphael Arndt, and CEO and Managing Director of Coles Group Leah Weckert in a wide-ranging discussion about the current state of the economy. In a dynamic global environment marked by unpredictability and rapid technological change, this session will explore how Australia’s financial system can remain fit for today, and for the future.
Joe Longo, Chair, ASIC
Dr Raphael Arndt, CEO, Future Fund
Dr David Gruen AO, Australian Statistician, ABS
Leah Weckert, CEO and MD, Coles Group
11.00 am to 11.30 am
Morning break
11.30 am to 12.30 pm
Plenary session 2: Consumer trust in dynamic times
As consumers face ongoing cost of living concerns, the impact of geopolitical factors and climate change on insurance premiums, and increased market volatility affecting investment and super balances, how does this affect trust in financial institutions and how should they respond?
Alan Kirkland, Commissioner, ASIC
Michele Levine, CEO, Roy Morgan
Steve Johnston, Group CEO and Managing Director, Suncorp
Erin Turner, CEO, CPRC
12.30 pm to 1.30 pm
Lunch break
1.30 pm to 2.25 pm
Plenary session 3: Structural transformation in Australia's financial services sector
With the rise of digital platforms, specialised fintech entities and major technology upgrades in some of our biggest banks, the provision of financial services is being transformed and non-financial players (like Google, Apple and Amazon) are now competing in spaces historically dominated by Australia’s banks. The session will focus on the impact of this shift on products and services offered to consumers as well as the impact on competition, regulation, and small business.
Kate O’Rourke, Commissioner, ASIC
Anthony Miller, CEO, Westpac Group
Melanie Silva, Vice President and Managing Director, Google Australia and New Zealand
Karl Durrance, Managing Director, Stripe Australia and New Zealand
2.25 pm to 3.20 pm
Plenary session 4: Cyber security and operational resilience
This session will explore the benefits for developing good cyber and operational resilience where boards are curious and actively engaged with these key issues. We’ll also discuss what can happen when boards don’t pay enough attention.
Simone Constant, Commissioner, ASIC
Hamish Hansford, Head of National Security, Department of Home Affairs
Rob Bedwell, CEO, JP Morgan Australian and New Zealand
Craig Dunn, Chair, Telstra
3.20 pm to 4.00 pm
Afternoon break
Elective session 1A:
Designing for good
In an increasingly complex world, consumers have greater access than ever to a wide range of financial products and services. For some consumers, these offerings can pose significant risks if appropriate safeguards are not built in. We know the Design and Distribution Obligations (DDO) regime was designed to drive a transformation in the way that product issuers think about designing financial products for their consumers. Do customers increasingly expect firms to do more, and design products to drive positive outcomes with safety-by-design principles in mind?
Speakers:
Kate O’Rourke, Commissioner, ASIC
Vicki Doyle, CEO, Rest
Catherine Fitzpatrick, Founder and Director, Flequity Ventures
David Locke, Chief Ombudsman and CEO, AFCA
Elective session 1B:
Unlocking the potential of distributed ledgers in financial markets and payments
This session will explore the usage and practical application of distributed ledger technologies (DLT) in key infrastructure in the financial system - for financial market and payment services.
This year has seen increasing uptake in the use of DLT in financial market and payments infrastructure - for the ‘rails’ on which these systems run. This includes major developments domestically and overseas with deposit tokens, stablecoins and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs).
Join us as we explore how industry and policymakers can ensure responsible innovation is supported without any reduction in consumer protection or market integrity. The session will also build on the earlier plenary session on structural transformation and digital platforms.
Speakers:
Alan Kirkland, Commissioner, ASIC
John O’Loghlen, Regional Managing Director APAC & Country Director Australia, Coinbase
Prof Tālis Putniņš, Co-CEO & Chief Scientist, Digital Finance CRC
Sandra Ro, CEO, GBBC
Elective session 1C:
Investing: not all fun and games
This session will ensure how innovative use of digital technology can empower consumers to make choices that reflect their best interests. What are the risks and harms, and what are the implications for regulation. We will explore the risk and impacts as the online world gamifies traditional investing, especially amid a growing sense of disconnect particularly for younger participants in the economy.
Speakers:
Calissa Aldridge, Executive Director – Markets, ASIC
Chandni Gupta, Deputy CEO and Digital Policy Director, CPRC
Jon Howie, Former CEO, Stake
Prof Angel Zhong, Director of Research - Regenerative Futures Institute, RMIT University
David Singleton, Analyst, ASIC
5.30pm to 6.30pm
Registration and pre-dinner drinks
6.30pm to 9.30pm
ASIC Annual Dinner
Joe Longo, Chair, ASIC
Hon. Arthur Sinodinos AO, Chair - United States Studies Centre, USYD
8.45 am to 8.50 am
WELCOME TO DAY 2
James Thomson, Senior Chanticleer columnist, AFR (Forum Facilitator)
Nic Fildes, Australia and Pacific Correspondent, FT (Forum Facilitator)
8.50 am to 9.00 am
Keynote (Recorded address)
Mathias Cormann, Secretary-General, OECD
9.00 am to 10.00 am
Plenary session 5: Enforcement priorities
ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court will present ASIC’s enforcement priorities for 2026 and reflect on the agency’s work in 2025. Ms Court will then be joined by the Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the UK Financial Conduct Authority, Therese Chambers, for a conversation on enforcement challenges and priorities from a global regulatory perspective.
Sarah Court, Deputy Chair, ASIC
Therese Chambers, Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight, FCA
10.00 am to 11.00 am
Plenary session 6: Meet the regulators
Join leaders from Australia’s key regulatory agencies for a conversation about how they are delivering on their mandates in an ever-changing and complex economic and regulatory environment. This session will offer insights into how the agencies responsible for market integrity, consumer protection, prudential supervision and competition are responding to current challenges and working to strengthen Australia’s financial system.
Joe Longo, Chair, ASIC
Gina Cass-Gottlieb, Chair, ACCC
John Lonsdale, Chair, APRA
11.00 am to 11.30 am
Morning break
11.30 am to 12.30 pm
Plenary session 7: The future of capital markets
In this session we will discuss what the future holds for markets, including the developments in public and private capital markets and what this means for ASIC as a regulator and for Australian investors. This conversation comes at a time of abnormally high global uncertainty, marked by volatility and emerging concerns around credit and liquidity. We will also explore market infrastructure and global developments and consider the risks and opportunities shaping the future of Australia’s financial system.
Simone Constant, Commissioner, ASIC
Andrew Fraser, Chair, ART
Simon Rothery, CEO, Goldman Sachs Australia and New Zealand
Jason Collins, Head of Australia, BlackRock
12.30pm to 1.30pm
Lunch break
1.30 pm to 2.30 pm
Plenary session 8: Global deregulation and simplification
This session will explore the relationship between simplification and deregulation, and how these approaches are shaping the future of regulation in a rapidly changing world. In a discussion spanning global deregulation trends, ASIC’s simplification agenda, and the impact of emerging technologies, panellists will explore how regulation can be more effective, support productivity, and achieve better outcomes with less complexity.
Joe Longo, Chair, ASIC
Nicola Wakefield Evans AM, Non-executive Director, Viva Energy, Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Sonic Healthcare
Jo Masters, Chief Economist, Barrenjoey Capital Partners
Prof Graeme Samuel AC, Monash University
2.30 pm to 2.45 pm
CLOSING REMARKS
Joe Longo, Chair, ASIC
The program is subject to change, without notice.