GRC Report Staff

EIOPA's September 16, 2026 article (published via Eurofi) argues that aging demographics and uneven retirement confidence require national reforms with EU coordination, along with stronger EU-level supplementary products such as the PEPP or a "EuroPension" model. It is a policy position rather than binding regulation, but it signals the direction of supervisory expectations on DC design, defaults, transparency, and costs. Compliance teams at pension, asset management, and insurance firms should use it to anticipate product and disclosure changes.

ASIC's Form 208 requires companies to notify the regulator of shares issued for non-cash consideration, such as property, services, dividend capitalization, or reserve capitalization, when the issue is not covered by a lodged written contract. It must be lodged with a Form 484 within 28 days. Compliance teams should confirm that corporate secretarial processes capture these issues and meet the deadline to avoid late lodgment fees.

The SEC has proposed rescinding Rule 14a-8, the federal shareholder proposal rule, which would leave shareholder proposals to state law and company governing documents. It also proposed amending Rule 14a-4(c) on discretionary proxy voting authority and streamlining proxy solicitation procedures. Compliance, legal, and corporate secretary teams should assess the effect on shareholder engagement, proxy processes, and governance documents, and consider submitting comments.

ASIC has published Form 396, which proprietary companies must lodge when they intend to stop, or have stopped, relying on the audit relief in ASIC Corporations (Audit Relief) Instrument 2016/784 or Class Order [CO 98/1417]. Missing the lodgement window permanently bars a company from re-applying the relief in future financial years, so compliance teams need to track the deadline closely. The form carries no lodgement fee, but the consequences of late lodgement are significant.

ASIC's Form 403 (dated 17 January 2011, though listed here under a 2026 date) requires a foreign company to verify a true copy of the document authorizing someone to execute a memorandum of appointment or power of attorney for a local agent under section 601CG(2) of the Corporations Act 2001. It is a procedural form with no lodgement fee, not a new rule. Compliance teams supporting foreign entities registered in Australia should confirm that their filings and annexures meet its formal requirements.

ASIC's Form 157 allows an external administrator, controller, or receiver to apply to change the name of a company under external administration. The administrator must certify that the change is in the interests of creditors as a whole. Compliance and restructuring teams should confirm the correct certification, signatory, and lodgement steps before filing. Note that the document is dated 2026-09-16 but the form itself carries a 1 July 2014 version date, so this appears to be a republication of an existing form rather than a new rule.

ASIC's Form 488 and its accompanying Guide set out how companies and registered schemes may apply under section 345B of the Corporations Act 2001 to change their annual review date. Approval is limited to defined circumstances, such as alignment within a corporate group or a common officeholder or responsible entity, or ASIC-assessed exceptional circumstances. Compliance teams managing multiple entities should understand the eligibility criteria, authorization requirements, and fee implications before lodging.