Oceania Reg Desk

Friday, 2026-07-31 · covering the last 24h (30–31 Jul 2026)

Australia

ASIC finalises enhanced beneficial ownership and substantial holding disclosure regime. On 30 July ASIC confirmed final settings following CP 387, registering two legislative instruments (ASIC Corporations (Listed Entities Enhanced Beneficial Ownership) Instrument 2026/482 and the related Amendment and Repeal Instrument 2026/483) that consolidate Forms 603/604/605 into a single Substantial Holding Notice, extend disclosure to deemed economic interests from equity derivatives (including offsetting short positions), and move registers of relevant interests to an index-based format. The regime takes effect for listed entities from 4 December 2026, with a transitional window to 4 June 2027 for interest holders to move to the new form; institutional investors and market participants with derivative exposure to ASX-listed stocks will need new monitoring and lodgement processes to track 1%-threshold movements across separate holding categories. ASIC – CP 387

No update on three standing items. ASX's scrip-funded M&A shareholder-approval consultation (closed 29 July, ~45 submissions) has no published ASX response or listing-rule amendment yet; ASIC's pre-hedging guidance consultation (CP 389, closed 27 July) remains under review with no outcome published; the CHESS Release 2 program shows no fresh milestone beyond the Industry Test Environment and technical documentation already issued in early July. Nothing new on any of the three in this window.

New Zealand

No material FMA or NZX/NZ RegCo equity-market regulatory items in the last 24 hours.

Informational only — summaries of public regulatory sources; not advice.