Australia鈥檚 public and private markets and emerging financial products will form a new pillar of ob体育鈥檚 expanded strategic priorities.
ob体育 Chair Joe Longo said the agency鈥檚 latest Corporate Plan included a new pillar in its strategic priorities that underscored a commitment to strengthening integrity across Australia鈥檚 markets.
鈥楾he integrity of our markets is fundamental to maintaining trust in Australia鈥檚 financial system which is core to ob体育鈥檚 remit,鈥� Mr Longo said.
鈥楾rust in the financial system and markets means greater confidence which means more investment. That has direct benefits for the jobs and opportunities of Australians.
鈥榃hile Australia鈥檚 private markets are dwarfed in size by our listed equity markets, their opacity presents an outsized risk to market integrity, particularly as more investors become exposed.
鈥楾he addition of a new strategic priority aimed at driving consistency and transparency across markets and products puts all market participants on notice.鈥�
Mr Longo said the transformation work that had been underway at ob体育 over the past three years had helped the agency to review and clarify its focus areas.
鈥榃hile the overarching themes of our existing strategic priorities remain consistent, our updated Corporate Plan demonstrate how we are evolving and adapting to the changing needs of our operating environment,鈥� Mr Longo said.
鈥楢s the agency embeds the new structure we implemented last year, we are better able to anticipate and respond to threats and opportunities.
鈥楾he new structure and our strategic priorities are also helping better guide decisions about how to deploy ob体育鈥檚 limited resources.
鈥業n the last year alone we commenced around 170 new investigations - an increase of about 25%, and we filed 33 new civil proceedings in the Federal Court - an increase of 27% in civil proceedings on the previous year. Our investigations have led to 18 criminal convictions and seen a further 23 individuals charged by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecution for criminal offences.
鈥極ur latest Corporate Plan and strategic priorities represent the next step of ob体育鈥檚 transformation journey to being a modern, confident and ambitious regulator.鈥�