The Reserve Bank of Australia released its 2026 assessment of ASX clearing and settlement facilities on 23 September 2026, finding that one or more facilities only partly observed requirements covering governance, comprehensive risk management, credit risk and operational risk. The RBA acknowledged progress during the year, including ASX’s establishment of a Transformation Portfolio addressing deficiencies in governance, capability, culture and risk management, but said the exchange operator still failed to meet expectations in several important areas. Following the December 2024 batch settlement incident, ASX strengthened CHESS resourcing and contingency arrangements, prompting the RBA to upgrade ASX Clear and ASX Settlement from not observed to partly observed against the Operational Risk Standard. The RBA stressed that those upgrades reflected specific CHESS improvements rather than broader progress in ASX’s operational-risk management. ASX has faced heightened regulatory scrutiny since abandoning its blockchain-based CHESS replacement project in 2022, with regulators seeking stronger governance, technology resilience and risk controls after operational disruptions. The RBA annually assesses ASX Clear Pty Limited, ASX Clear (Futures) Pty Limited, ASX Settlement Pty Limited and Austraclear Limited, while ASIC has separate but complementary supervisory responsibilities.