Senator the Hon Mathias Cormann

The Government has received a number of high quality indicative bids from six private sector bidders to upgrade, operate and add value to the registry functions of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC Registry).

Indicative bids for the ASIC Registry tender process were due on 23 February 2016. Responses were received from a broad range of domestic and international businesses across sectors, including information technology, information management and financial investment.

A number of consortia have been formed by businesses responding to the indicative bid request.

The continued strong level of interest shown indicates that there is active and growing private sector interest in building and maintaining contemporary registry systems and improving service delivery in an evolving and dynamic digital environment.

The Commonwealth will retain ownership of the ASIC Registry’s data.

In considering a private operator, the Government will also take into account its strong preference for the ASIC Registry to maintain its existing operations in Traralgon and the Latrobe Valley area in Victoria more broadly.

While bids are subject to a formal evaluation process, overall the Government is pleased with the proposed commitments around Traralgon and the Latrobe Valley area.

The Government is now considering these bids and will make a decision on any further steps, following the evaluation of indicative bids.