ASIC has published its misconduct report for the first half of 2026, and the numbers are worth a look if you borrow money for a business.
Australian Broker reported that the regulator received 9,807 reports of misconduct between 1 January and 30 June 2026. Retail investor issues and governance matters together accounted for more than four in five of them. Scam-related conduct made up nearly one in five reports across the full dataset.
Where the risk is building
The subcategory to note: unlicensed lending and unregistered investment schemes, the single largest at 1,951 reports. Credit issues specifically accounted for 1,054 of the 5,657 financial services and retail investor reports. ASIC also flagged that scam operators are getting more polished, leaning on fake celebrity endorsements, and that it shut down an average of 230 scam websites a week during the period.
This is the part that matters at the coalface. When you go looking for finance, especially outside the familiar names, the line between a legitimate lender and an unlicensed one is not always obvious. An operator that looks professional, quotes an attractive rate, and moves fast is not automatically licensed to lend.
What it changes for borrowers
Nothing about your rate. But it does raise the value of a basic check before money or documents change hands. Australian credit providers and the intermediaries who arrange finance operate under licensing obligations, and those licences are verifiable on ASIC's registers. If a counterparty resists that scrutiny, that is information.
ASIC noted it secured a record $830 million in civil penalty orders in 2025–26, with $644 million returned to Australians, much of it traced back to public reports. The regulator's 2026–27 plan keeps scams as a standing priority alongside faster licensing turnaround and closer scrutiny of AI in customer-facing services.
The takeaway is unglamorous: verify who you are dealing with. The data suggests plenty of people wish they had.