Law Council of Australia

Business Law Section

Discussion Paper – Australia’s evolving capital markets

Submission Date: 7 May 2025 

This submission is jointly made by the Corporations and Financial Services Committees of the Business Law Section of the Law Council of Australia (the Committees). The Committees welcome the opportunity to comment on the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s Discussion Paper Australia’s evolving capital markets: A discussion paper on the dynamics between public and private markets released on 26 February 2025.

This submission highlights that the regulatory and transparency burdens on listed entities in Australia are significant factors driving the shift from public to private markets.

There are various drivers for the shift, including the current regulatory settings (for the public markets—on which the post-listing regulatory environment is, in the view of the Committees, a key factor) but also the global shift in direction of capital, driven by large institutional investors seeking long-term investment opportunities. Maintaining healthy public equity markets is crucial for Australia’s economy, and the Committees have a number of suggestions as further described in this paper to lift the burden in the post-listed environment and to enable greater speed to market for IPOs.

Private markets do not comprise a single market. They include many sub-categories and tiers, which for the most part have been open to investments from sophisticated and institutional investors (including superannuation funds) that do not require the same level of regulation and transparency as retail investors would—or investments in listed entities may—require.

The Committees caution against over-regulating private markets, which could stifle their flexibility and innovation. The current regulatory framework is fit for purpose. Similarly, any steps to drive greater transparency requires a clear regulatory purpose. The Committees consider that the current regulatory framework can provide for adequate regulatory visibility and caution against imposing additional (and overly burdensome, without commensurate “intelligence value”) reporting requirements that could deter investment activity.

Last Updated on 08/05/2025

Share

Related Documents
Tags

Most recent items in Business Law Section


Trending Items in Business Law Section