The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has overhauled its framework for advertising financial products and services, folding more than a decade’s worth of regulatory and enforcement developments into a single, revised guide. Regulatory Guide 234 Advertising Financial Products and Services (Including Credit) (RG 234) was reissued June 9, 2026, the first time the document had been substantially reworked since it was introduced in 2012. The revision closes out a process that began with a public consultation in late 2025.
The most structural change in the update is the absorption of a separate document, Regulatory Guide 53 The Use of Past Performance in Promotional Material (RG 53), into RG 234. With that material now folded into the main advertising guide, ASIC withdrew RG 53 entirely. Entities that previously maintained compliance procedures referencing RG 53 – particularly those governing how past performance data may be presented in promotional materials – will need to revise those internal frameworks accordingly.
Beyond the consolidation, ASIC used the revision to work in guidance reflecting enforcement and regulatory action on advertising conduct that had accumulated since the original guide was published. The existing content was also reorganised and trimmed. RG 234 covers a broad population of regulated entities: promoters of financial products, financial services, credit products, and credit services, as well as any party that publishes advertising for those products and services. Its core function is to assist those entities in meeting obligations under laws that prohibit false or misleading representations and misleading or deceptive conduct.
A consultation period ran from Nov. 27, 2025, to Jan. 22, 2026, during which ASIC sought feedback on the proposed changes. The regulator noted that responses from stakeholders were broadly supportive of the direction proposed. The three elements ultimately adopted in the final guide – drawing in enforcement experience, consolidating RG 53, and tightening existing content – mirror what was put forward for comment during that process. Non-confidential submissions and ASIC’s response to them are accessible through the relevant consultation page on the ASIC website.
The practical effect of the update is that RG 234 is now the single point of reference for ASIC’s advertising expectations. There is no stated transition period, which means the revised guidance took effect on the date of publication. Legal and compliance teams are expected to review existing advertising materials and internal review processes against the updated guide and to retire any references to the withdrawn RG 53.
Separately, and also on June 9, ASIC outlined how it intends to handle enforcement of an incoming prohibition on superannuation fund advertising during employee onboarding. That ban commences July 1, 2026, under the Treasury Laws Amendment (Supporting Choice in Superannuation and Other Measures) Act 2026, which amends the Corporations Act 2001. The prohibition targets advertising that occurs within the onboarding process itself, rather than general public-facing advertising, which remains outside the ban’s scope. Its stated purpose is to reduce the risk of employees being steered toward products that may not suit their needs or inadvertently opening duplicate superannuation accounts.
Exempt from the ban are MySuper products that satisfy legislated criteria, employer default funds, and an employee’s stapled fund. ASIC indicated it would not pursue enforcement against entities that are making a genuine effort to comply during the first 12 months of the ban’s operation. “Any enforcement action will likely be directed at misconduct that is serious or reckless in nature and not where entities are making honest attempts to comply with the new requirements,” ASIC said. The regulator added that further guidance on the super onboarding ban would follow once any subordinate regulations under the act had been made. The new onboarding restriction adds another compliance consideration to a period already marked by changes to advertising obligations more broadly.
