ASIC intensifies enforcement against SMSF audits

The outcome highlighted a year-on-year increase in the number of actions taken against self-managed super fund (SMSF) auditors.

These actions address serious breaches of auditor obligations, reinforcing ASIC’s commitment to upholding standards for gatekeepers who oversee more than $1 trillion in assets across over 672,000 SMSFs.

The regulator initiated these measures following diverse infractions of professional duties, including lapses in maintaining auditor independence and failures to adhere to auditing and assurance protocols.

Further issues identified involved non-compliance with ongoing professional development and practical experience mandates, the omission of annual statement filings, or determinations that individuals were no longer fit and proper for registration within the SMSF sector.

Emphasising the necessity of these oversight efforts, ASIC commissioner Kate O’Rourke highlighted the broader impact of auditor conduct.

“SMSF auditors play a fundamental role in promoting confidence and instilling trust in the entire SMSF sector,” O’Rourke said.

“It is crucial that SMSF auditors comply with their regulatory obligations, ASIC will continue to take action where they do not meet these obligations.”

Between 1 January 2026 and 30 June 2026, ASIC disqualified four SMSF auditors:

Christopher Edwards was disqualified after ASIC alleged Edwards does not have the “judgment, skill or character” to participate in the Australian financial services industry and was likely to contravene a financial services law.

Ballarat accountant Derek Grima was caught with child abuse material and took hundreds of upskirting photos of women and girls in Ballarat, Geelong, and Melbourne, and had been deregistered as a superannuation auditor by ASIC.

Meanwhile, Alexander Papazoglou and Bruce Rowntree were penalised due to professional failures and breaches of regulatory obligations.

ASIC had also suspended three SMSF auditors:

Mussarut Mirza, Wenjie Jiang, and Huan Yu were suspended for a period; however, Jiang requested ASIC to reconsider its suspension decision.

Eight SMSF auditors had additional conditions imposed on their SMSF auditor registrations, consisting of Brendan Bastin, Liliya Bayazitova, Robert Florence, Sean Henbury, Ian Gath, Peter O’Keefe, Chi Truong, and Diane Wills.

ASIC also cancelled the registrations of Marina Chan and Wesley Hindmarsh following a failure to demonstrate ongoing practical expertise and the non-lodgement of annual statements.

Furthermore, the corporate watchdog revoked the registrations of 19 additional SMSF auditors due to their persistent neglect of annual statement filing obligations; however, one individual successfully applied for a review, resulting in their subsequent reinstatement.

ASIC made a total of 64 SMSF auditor administrative decisions between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026, resulting in the disqualification of eight SMSF auditors, the suspension of three SMSF auditors, the imposition of additional conditions on 10 SMSF auditors, and the cancellation of the registration of 43 SMSF auditors.