The Australian regulator is clamping down on companies that were previously grandfathered – and therefore exempt from publishing their financial statements – that are now failing to file financial reports under the change in rules.

ASIC warned the “high levels of non-compliance” by these companies had prompted it to launch a crackdown.

A grandfathered company was a large proprietary company that met specific criteria that were required to prepare and have their financial statements audited but did not have to make the information public due to the past relief from lodgement requirements.

Since August 2022, grandfathered companies with financial years ending on or after this date have no longer been eligible for lodgement relief.

However, ASIC found that more than half of previously grandfathered companies did not lodge their financial reports in 2023 or 2024. While most of those companies have since lodged their financial reports following ASIC’s intervention, others remain outstanding.

“Financial reports provide shareholders, creditors and the public with important information to enable them to make informed decisions when dealing with these companies,” said ASIC Commissioner Kate O’Rourke.

“Companies should be lodging their financial reports in a timely manner. Regular and consistent reporting instils confidence and integrity in our financial system.”

O’Rourke said the watchdog is also concerned it did not receive the auditors’ notifications of lodgement breaches for the majority of the organisations identified.

“We will continue to monitor and address lodgement failures, including taking regulatory action when needed,” O’Rourke said.

ASIC has launched a broader surveillance focused on non-lodgement of financial reports by large proprietary companies, which it expects to complete in the first quarter of 2026.