ASIC has issued infringement notices totalling $594,000 to three companies within supply chain logistics operator Mainfreight Group for allegedly failing to lodge their financial reports for the financial year ended 31 March 2025 on time.
Mainfreight Distribution Pty Limited, Owens Group Australia Pty Limited and Mainfreight Holdings Pty Ltd each paid an infringement notice of $198,000 for not lodging their financial reports by the 31 July 2025 deadline.
The issuing of these infringement notices forms part of ASIC’s ongoing surveillance and enforcement work focused on financial reporting compliance.
Payment of an infringement notice is not an admission of guilt or liability, and the companies are not regarded as having been convicted of the alleged offence.
The specific reasons for ASIC’s concerns are set out in the infringement notices on the Infringement Notices Register.
ASIC’s focus on financial reporting in 2026
ASIC Commissioner Kate O’Rourke said the infringement notices issued to the Mainfreight Group should serve as a warning for companies required to lodge financial reports for the year ended 30 June 2026.
‘ASIC’s action sends a clear message to reporting entities that we are actively enforcing the financial reporting requirements and expect companies to comply.
‘We have issued infringement notices to companies across a range of sectors including retail, hospitality and now logistics. All of these companies play a significant role in our economy and should be complying with their financial reporting obligations.
‘We remind companies required to lodge financial reports that they must generally lodge within four months after the end of the financial year. Disclosing entities and registered schemes generally have three months.
‘Reporting companies should act now to ensure their FY26 financial reports are prepared, audited and lodged with ASIC on time. We will take appropriate action to ensure reporting entities comply with their governance and disclosure obligations,’ Ms O’Rourke said.
ASIC has issued 27 infringement notices totalling more than $5 million for alleged financial reporting breaches since commencing a broad surveillance focused on late lodgement and non-lodgement of financial reports in August 2025.
Ms O’Rourke said, ‘We will continue our targeted, data-driven surveillance to identify and investigate companies that have lodged late or failed to lodge at all, in line with our current enforcement priority focusing on financial reporting misconduct.’
Companies should check whether they are required to lodge financial reports, confirm their applicable lodgement deadline, and ensure audit and board approval processes are scheduled early enough to meet that deadline.
Background
ASIC’s focus on financial reporting
Financial reporting misconduct, including the failure to lodge financial reports, is one of ASIC’s 2026 enforcement priorities (25-273MR).
Since commencing its broad surveillance focused on alleged late lodgement and non-lodgement of financial reports in August 2025, ASIC has issued infringement notices totalling more than $5 million. Further details about these actions are included in the following media releases:
- ASIC issues over $2.2 million in infringement notices to 12 large proprietary companies for alleged failure to lodge financial reports (25‑298MR)
- Infrabuild companies pay infringement notices for failing to lodge financial reports on time (25‑278MR)
- Mecca companies pay $594,000 in infringement notices for failing to lodge financial reports on time (26‑057MR)
- Canva Group pays $792,000 in infringement notices for failing to lodge financial reports on time (26-090MR)
- Fashion and beauty retailers trading under the Zara, H&M and Sephora brands pay $596,000 in infringement notices for failing to lodge financial reports on time (26‑111MR).
In addition to the 27 infringement notices issued, we have obtained court-imposed fines for failing to lodge financial reports and related governance obligations, including more than $1.1 million in fines against three public companies in a single day at the Downing Centre Local Court (26-058MR).
Financial reporting obligations
Large proprietary companies are required to prepare and lodge annual financial reports. A proprietary company is classified as large if it meets at least two of the following criteria for a financial year:
- the consolidated revenue of the company and any entities it controls is $50 million or more
- the consolidated gross assets of the company and any entities it controls is $25 million or more, and
- the company and any entities it controls have 100 or more employees.
In addition to large proprietary companies, other entities that are required to prepare and lodge financial reports include public companies, registered managed investment schemes, registrable superannuation entities, and small proprietary companies that are controlled by a foreign company.
Financial reports are an important source of information for investors, creditors and the broader market.
