Australia’s corporate regulator on Wednesday called on the government and stock exchange operators to introduce more flexible disclosure and governance frameworks to help smaller companies go public. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said it supports efforts to lower free-float thresholds for listed firms and reduce market capitalization requirements for foreign companies seeking to list in Australia. The commission also said it would review rules governing when financial forecasts must be included in prospectuses.
In its latest report, ASIC highlighted structural challenges in Australia’s public markets, noting that many companies are increasingly turning to private capital to fund their growth. The regulator said reforms are needed to keep Australia’s capital markets internationally competitive and attractive for new listings. ASIC Chair Joe Longo underscored the importance of maintaining healthy public markets, emphasizing that both public and private capital play vital roles in supporting economic growth.
According to Dealogic data, Australia has seen roughly $2 billion in listings so far in 2025 — the most in four years but still well below the nearly $8.5 billion recorded in 2021. Under the country’s current “one-size-fits-all” approach, small companies face the same listing requirements as large corporations. ASIC said it would back government initiatives to introduce simplified disclosure and governance frameworks for smaller listed entities.
The regulator noted that such reforms could particularly benefit Australia’s mining, biotech, and innovative start-up sectors, which account for a large share of listings on the ASX. ASIC also expressed support for an ASX proposal to lower the minimum free float for listed firms to about 15% from the current 20–25%, aligning Australia more closely with markets in the U.S. and U.K., which require only a 10% minimum.
The ASX is currently consulting on a plan to cut the market capitalization requirement for overseas companies listing in Australia from A$2 billion to A$500 million (US$325 million). Meanwhile, ASIC recently approved CBOE Global Markets — which handles about 20% of Australia’s daily equity trading — to accept new listings, making it a potential rival to the ASX. Although CBOE announced plans last week to sell its Australian business, ASIC said it expects the exchange to continue as an IPO platform under new ownership.
Darren Yip, ASX’s group executive for markets and listings, reiterated that competition among exchanges remains key to ensuring strong and effective Australian capital markets.
Source: Reuters
