Beauty is pain for fashion retailers after alleged late lodgments

More than half a million dollars in infringement notices have been issued to Inditex Australia, H&M Hennes & Mauritz, and Sephora Australia after the businesses allegedly failed to lodge financial reports by their deadlines.

The companies, which operate under the Zara, H&M, and Sephora brands, respectively, have since lodged all outstanding documents, with ASIC clarifying that payment of an infringement notice is not an admission of guilt or liability.

The penalties totalled $596,000, with each business shelling out $198,000 for missing respective deadlines.

As recently reported, ASIC intends to prioritise financial report auditing and surveillance capabilities in the 2026–27 financial year.

On the aforementioned triple penalties, commissioner Kate O’Rourke said they reinforce the watchdog's ongoing commitment to enforce action for late or non-lodgments by large proprietary companies, with 24 infringement notices totalling over $4.5 million for alleged financial reporting breaches issued since August 2025.

“This, combined with court-imposed fines for failing to lodge financial reports and related governance obligations, should send a clear message to reporting entities that we are actively enforcing the financial reporting requirements and expect companies to comply,” O'Rourke said.

“In line with our current enforcement priority, and through our targeted, data-driven surveillance, we continue to identify and investigate a number of companies that have lodged late or failed to lodge at all.”

“ASIC will take appropriate action to ensure reporting entities are well aware of, and comply with, this important governance and disclosure obligation.”