The Rise and Fall, and Possible Rise Again, of the Use of Infringement Notices By the Australian Securities and Investments Commission

Infringement notices issued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), which specify monetary penalties to be paid by those whom ASIC believes have contravened the law, were introduced in 2004. Since then, they have been extensively used by ASIC. However, infringement notices are controversial for reasons including the significant increase in the areas of law which are subject to infringement notices, the substantial monetary penalties that are payable for some infringement notices and their use in areas of the law which are both complex and have serious offences for contraventions, leading some to argue that courts should decide the penalties rather than ASIC. The authors examine all infringement notices issued by ASIC between 2004 and 2022, documenting how the use of the notices differs substantially according to the area of law and also how the use of infringement notices has varied over time. Reasons for these findings are explored by the authors.