ASX's supervisory role

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) is often referred to as one of 'the regulators' of financial market activity in Australia.  It is more accurate to describe ASX as a regulated commercial organisation that monitors specific aspects of the businesses of other organisations (for example, the governance of listed companies and the on-exchange or on-market trade execution by brokers).  ASX does so as a condition of the licences it has been granted by Government to conduct its own commercial undertakings.

A single document comprehensively explaining ASX's role in Australia’s financial market regulatory framework (PDF 113KB) is available.

What ASX does and does not do

ASX is neither a financial services regulator (like ASIC) nor a prudential supervisor (like APRA).  ASX is a commercial and regulated organisation with some monitoring and supervisory responsibilities derived from its commercial licences.

ASX's relationship with regulators

ASX’s relationship with regulators (ASIC and the Reserve Bank of Australia) is that of a commercial organisation which has six separate licences from the Government in order to conduct its business.