ASX Limited today announced it has settled proceedings brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in relation to statements made in 2022 on the status of the CHESS project.

ASIC commenced civil proceedings against ASX in August 2024 alleging three statements that were made in 2022 regarding the previous CHESS project were misleading and contravened ss 12DA and 12DB of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (Cth).

Under the agreement with ASIC, ASX admits that it contravened these provisions of the ASIC Act when it made the “progressing well” representation. ASIC is no longer pursuing allegations of misleading statement in relation to representations the Project was “tracking to the Published Plan” and “Tracking to Go-Live in April 2023”.

As part of the settlement, and subject to the approval of the Federal Court of Australia, ASX will pay a penalty of $20.5 million and will contribute $3 million to ASIC’s legal costs. Given this development, the parties will no longer be proceeding to trial.

ASX Chair David Clarke said:

“The CHESS project is now on firmer footing, and our decision to settle this matter reflects the desire by the Board to focus ASX on building for the future while maintaining the work still required to build confidence and deliver for the market. We will continue the reset across the Group, informed by the findings of the ASIC Inquiry report delivered earlier this year.”

Interim CEO Darren Yip said:

“CHESS remains a critical priority for the Group. Just two months ago, the team successfully delivered Release 1 of the new system, providing clearing services on a modern, cloud-aligned platform.

“Since go-live of Release 1, CHESS has continued to perform strongly, consistently processing elevated trading volumes during periods of heightened global market volatility – underscoring its resilience and scalability. The significant investments we are making in our technology modernisation program remain a core focus for ASX.”

The proposed penalty in today’s settlement will need to proceed to an approval hearing in the Federal Court of Australia that has not yet been scheduled but may occur in late FY26 or in FY27. The amount will, however, be provisioned in FY26 and be recognised as a non-recurring significant item. ASX’s contribution to ASIC’s legal costs will also be recognised as a significant item in FY26.