A Rapid Response to Questionable Trading - Moving Towards Better Enforcement of Australia's Securities Laws

The global financial crisis has acutely exposed the global nature of the markets for securities and their impact on the world economy. Yet despite some cross-fertilization, the regulation of those markets differs significantly. In the longer term it is likely that governments will now move towards the setting of more uniform securities laws and a more coordinated response to their enforcement. However in the short term can more be done to ensure that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) improve their enforcement of Australia's securities laws, in particular the prohibitions against insider trading and market manipulation? ASIC has recently undertaken a review of its structure in an effort to become more market focused. The ASX has established a separate company to undertake supervision of its markets. However both ASIC and the ASX operate under existing laws and procedures that divide the supervision of regulating the markets between them. This article will consider whether changes are needed to both their enforcement tools and this division of regulation to prompt a quicker enforcement response and to respond to the challenges of a likely move towards worldwide harmonization of securities regulation.