Released 23 July 2026. Comments close 21 August 2026.
ASIC is seeking feedback on its proposal to simplify Regulatory Guide 264 Sell-Side Research (RG 264).
The proposed changes are informed by feedback received in response to Australia’s evolving capital markets: A discussion paper on the dynamics between public and private markets. Broadly, the feedback indicated that reducing prescription in RG 264 would encourage greater use of sell-side research to support capital raising activity.
Our proposed amendments to RG 264 seek to:
- simplify the existing guidance by removing prescription and replacing it with a shorter, principles-based guide
- reflect industry feedback received in response to ASIC’s public and private markets discussion paper
- provide clearer, more accessible guidance on ASIC’s regulatory expectations for the preparation, supervision and distribution of sell-side research, and
- ensure the guidance remains relevant and workable across different business models and market participants.
See Related information for a copy of the draft RG 264.
A consultation paper was not issued for this consultation.
Providing feedback
We invite feedback on our proposed update to RG 264, including:
- whether the proposed guidance is sufficiently clear
- whether the proposed guidance reflects industry practice in managing risks associated with sell-side research, and
- any suggested changes you may have to the draft guidance, including areas where further clarification would assist.
We are also seeking feedback on the following issues where we are not proposing to change the underlying principles:
- presentation of valuation information in Investor Education Reports (IER), and
- fact checking of draft IER by corporate advisory teams.
To the extent you consider ASIC should consider a different approach on IERs, please provide details of the approach, how it would support IPO activity and suggested controls to mitigate the potential risks.
You should send your submission to markets.consultation@asic.gov.au by 5pm AEST on 21 August 2026.
You may choose to remain anonymous or use an alias when providing feedback. However, if you do remain anonymous we will not be able to contact you to discuss your feedback should we need to.
We will not treat your feedback as confidential unless you specifically request that we treat the whole or part of it (such as any personal or financial information) as confidential.
Please see our privacy policy for more information on how we handle personal information, your rights to seek access to and correct personal information, and your right to complain about breaches of privacy by ASIC.
Background
ASIC’s review of RG 264 forms part of our response to feedback received on the public and private markets discussion paper.
Stakeholder feedback indicated that the current guide could be streamlined and made easier to apply in practice, while still maintaining regulatory expectations around the management of conflicts of interest, integrity of research processes, and independence of research views.
In response, we are proposing to simplify RG 264 by reducing prescription and adopting a more principles-based approach.
Related information
ASIC moves to simplify sell-side research guidance to support capital raising activity