ASIC Chair, James Shipton, is to step down from his role in the coming months.
Shipton’s impending departure was confirmed by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg at the end of last week.
The Treasurer’s statement outlined the results of a review of ASIC governance following matters that were identified by the Auditor-General’s office in the course of an audit of ASIC’s annual financial statements.
The independent review, conducted by Dr Vivienne Thom AM considered:
- The processes supporting the approval of remuneration and benefits paid to Executive Office holders, including the trigger points for seeking advice should amounts outside of the Remuneration Determination be considered for approval
- The procurement processes around payments made for the taxation advice paid on behalf of the Chair to determine those internal controls that need to be either reinforced with relevant staff or redesigned to ensure effective implementation
After considering the report’s finding and supplementary legal advice, the Treasurer stated he was satisfied there have been no instances of misconduct by the ASIC Chair concerning his relocation arrangements, including ASIC’s payment for tax advice resulting from his relocation to Australia in early 2018, nor had there been any breaches of applicable codes of conduct.
While the Treasurer noted he was satisfied there have been no instances of misconduct attributable to Mr Shipton, Dr Thom’s review did make recommendations for significant improvements to ASIC’s internal practices, systems and processes.
Given the review outcomes, the Treasurer’s statement notes Mr Shipton is to return to his role this week, but he has agreed it is in the best interests of ASIC that he will step down from his role in the coming months, but will remain until a new Chairperson commences.
