The Australian Securities and Investments Commission announced new market-integrity safeguards for algorithmic trading on 24 September 2026. The securities and futures amendment instruments were registered on 17 September and provide an 18-month transition, with the principal obligations commencing on 18 March 2028.
This is not a ban aimed only at generative AI. The rules are technology-neutral and cover systems that automatically determine whether, when and at what price or quantity an order is submitted, including systems using artificial intelligence or machine learning. Pure routing, transmission, confirmation and post-trade functions that do not determine order parameters are generally excluded.
What the registered rules require
Market participants must maintain written arrangements covering the development, testing, approval, deployment and ongoing monitoring of trading algorithms. Reasonable testing is required before first use and after material changes, with appropriately skilled personnel responsible for the work.
Systems must include automated filters, prevent unauthorised access and allow trading to be suspended, limited or prohibited immediately by person, client, algorithm, product, market or system. Participants must also be able to cancel a problematic series of orders. These controls are intended to contain abnormal behaviour quickly rather than assume every possible failure can be predicted.
Surveillance applies before and after execution. Participants must monitor messages that could interfere with market integrity and conduct post-trade surveillance for conduct that may create a false or misleading appearance of activity, supply, demand or price. Governance, testing and monitoring records generally have to be kept for seven years.
Manual and automated orders move closer together
ASIC says the amendments align requirements for manual and automated orders and clarify the prohibition on creating a false or misleading appearance. A participant cannot simply transfer responsibility by saying an algorithm came from a vendor or remained subject to human oversight. If a system helps determine order parameters, the participant needs an auditable control chain around its actual operation.
Vendors supplying strategy engines, smart routing, execution algorithms or machine-learning models may also feel the contractual effect. Although the regulatory duty rests with market participants, model-change notifications, test environments, log access and emergency permissions are likely to become more important.
Final rules versus draft guidance
ASIC also opened Consultation CS 63 on updates to RG 265 and RG 266 and the withdrawal of RG 241. Submissions close at 5 pm AEDT on 5 November 2026. The two amendment instruments are registered and have a defined 2028 commencement date; the revised guidance is still a proposal and should not be described as final regulatory interpretation.
Impact on firms and traders
The amendments do not find that any platform manipulated a market, failed or caused customer losses. Their immediate effect is on institutional preparation: inventorying algorithms and owners, validating test evidence, checking that controls can limit or stop activity at several levels, and ensuring logs can support seven-year retention and regulatory review.
For individual traders, the practical benefit is stronger governance around the automated systems used by brokers and market infrastructure. It does not imply that account access or trading conditions change immediately.
TraderVote view
The important shift is accountability, not an assumption that “AI trading” is inherently improper. Regulators are asking who approved a model, how it was tested, how anomalies are detected, who can stop it immediately and whether the order trail can later be reconstructed. The heaviest work may lie in inventories, ownership, cross-system logging and emergency authority rather than rewriting code.
Sources
ASIC media release 26-226MR, published and accessed 24 September 2026: https://www.asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-release/2026-releases/26-226mr-asic-strengthens-ai-trading-safeguards-and-streamlines-market-integrity-rules
ASIC Consultation CS 63, published and accessed 24 September 2026: https://www.asic.gov.au/regulatory-resources/find-a-document/consultations/cs-63-proposed-updates-to-rg-265-and-rg-266-and-withdrawal-of-rg-241
Securities amendment instrument 2026/807, registered 17 September and accessed 24 September 2026: https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2026L01223/latest/text
Futures amendment instrument 2026/808, registered 17 September and accessed 24 September 2026: https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2026L01224/latest/text
Written independently by Hengyuan from public information verifiable as of 24 September 2026. This article is not investment or legal advice.
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