ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court, currently the corporate regulator’s top enforcer in the Shield and First Guardian scandal, will succeed outgoing chair Joe Longo. Longo announced he would not seek reappointment as chair last year, and Court will take over from 1 June 2026. 

She has been the lead enforcer for the regulator, overseeing $250 million in combined penalties for misconduct against ANZ late last year, as well as legal proceedings in the aftermath of the Shield and First Guardian failure. 

Court has been essential in not only enforcing the law against those responsible across the financial services ecosystem for the collapse of Shield and First Guardian, but also managing the expectations of consumers who have felt let down by the system and bringing proceedings against trustees and researcher that have allegedly failed as gatekeepers. 

She has also been one of the key spokespeople that has informed the government during Parliamentary inquiries into oversight of the regulator’s performance, and was instrumental in leading ASIC’s agreements with Macquarie and Netwealth to remediate Shield clients on its platforms, avoiding prolonged court proceedings that would’ve left the retirement savings of investors in purgatory. 
 
Court will be speaking at the Professional Planner Advice Policy Summit, which will be held on 23-24 February 2026 at the National Press Club in Canberra.The event, which is open to advisers, practice principals and licensee executives, will give delegates the chance to hear from and engage with the incoming chair. 
 
‘Very capable hands’ 
 
Longo said Court would bring deep regulatory expertise to the role from her career of public service. 

“Sarah is an exceptional regulator with a strong record in enforcement that demonstrates her integrity and impact,” Longo said in a media statement. 

“Her work as ASIC’s deputy chair has been instrumental to the success of the agency’s structural transformation that has strengthened our enforcement posture and work, leading to better outcomes for consumers and a fairer financial system. 

“ASIC will be in very capable hands under her leadership. Over the coming months, I will support Sarah, the Commission and all our staff to ensure a smooth and orderly transition.” 

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer partner Michael Vrisakis said the appointment of Court was a “logical and sensible” succession to Longo.  

“The industry will be hoping with some justification that Sarah Court’s appointment will bring an increased focus on the enhancement of productivity through its enforcement program aimed at supporting a level playing field,” Vrisakis said. 

“[And] protecting the economic welfare of consumers of financial services through timely and decisive action against, and consequential deterrence delivered to, bad, recalcitrant and exploitative actors.” 

Super Consumers Australia chief executive Xavier O’Halloran said the consumer body welcomes Court’s appointment and that she has a proven track record in taking on important consumer protection cases in superannuation.  

“Under her stewardship ASIC has had a noticeable impact in driving better consumer outcomes, including compensation for the victims of major financial sector failures like Shield and First Guardian,” O’Halloran said. 

SMSF Association CEO Peter Burgess said Court has strengthened ASIC’s enforcement and investigative capabilities, contributing to some of its strongest enforcement outcomes on record.  

“ASIC’s investigations into schemes such as Shield and First Guardian highlight the need for a strong, well-resourced regulator to detect misconduct early and deter exploitation of Australians’ retirement savings,” he said. 

“Effective enforcement is essential to maintaining confidence in the superannuation system, including the SMSF sector.” 
 
Scam protections 

Court’s appointment comes as ASIC prepares to deliver an exclusive briefing into the findings of a review into super fund anti-scam and fraud protections at the Investment Magazine Chair Forum on Wednesday.  
 
The review assessed scams and fraud-related website content across 47 superannuation funds and benchmarked them against comparable content from the big four banks. While banks scored positively on over 80 per cent of the criteria assessed, super funds scored positively against just 40-60 per cent of the same criteria.  
 
ASIC Commissioner Simone Constant, who will deliver the briefing at Chair Forum, said that the superannuation industry has been slow to respond to evolving scam and fraud risk to members.  
 
“Our latest review of superannuation website content confirmed that super funds often lacked clarity, accessibility, and support for scam victims,” Constant said in a statement accompanying the review. 
 
“ When benchmarked against other industries, super funds fell short for victims. It is time for super trustees to step up and minimise scam and fraud risks to members, which according to the National Anti-Scam Centre suffered $22 million in losses from super-related scams in 2025. 
 
“Super trustees have a clear and unavoidable responsibility to oversee risk and ensure these emerging threats are identified and managed actively. Yet scam and fraud prevention, detection, and response capabilities are still not sufficiently addressing risks to members.” 

Additional reporting by Lachlan Maddock.