In this Issue

• Market update – DFCRC/RBA Project Acacia.
• Regulatory Update – Australia’s Better Regulation Roadmap
• Members Update – Next Generation Speed Networking event and ACSA Thought Leadership Series
• Global Perspective – ISSA Big Tech and Securities Services business future innovation
• Industry Insights
• In Focus –Robert Poulter (Northern Trust)
  
  

Introduction

Welcome to the May 2026 edition of the ACSA Industry Wrap.

In this edition, we share key updates on digital assets and tokenisation of financial markets and regulatory developments shaping Australia’s custody and investment services landscape. Highlights include the latest progress on DFCRC/RBA Project Acacia, insights from ISSA on Big Tech Innovations.

This issue also features upcoming Speed Networking and Thought Leadership webinars and this month, we are in focus with Robert Poulter from Northern Trust.

Market Update

Project Acacia –Exploring the role of digital money in wholesale tokenised asset markets.

Project Acacia was a research project led by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre (DFCRC) that explored how digital money and associated settlement infrastructure could enhance the functioning of Australia’s wholesale asset markets through the development of tokenised finance.

Overall, the project found strong potential for the tokenisation of assets, alongside digital money and/or enhanced settlement infrastructure, to improve the efficiency, resiliency and functionality of financial markets. However, generating these benefits will require a coordinated effort across industry and the public sector to further facilitate the development of tokenisation innovations.

The RBA, together with the DFCRC and other agencies on the Council of Financial Regulators (CFR), have identified various initiatives that will continue to foster the strong public-private collaboration built through Project Acacia, setting out the road ahead for supporting responsible innovation at scale.

You can read the final report on Project Acacia here.

Join the discussion.

If you’re interested in joining in ACSA’s discussions and response to market initiatives and industry consultations, please connect to us at admin@acsa.com.au.

Regulatory Update

Better Regulation Roadmap

The Council of Financial Regulators (CFR) are working together to deliver better regulation of the financial sector, aiming to improve efficiency through regulatory reform without compromising financial stability, consumer protection and market integrity.

This reform agenda is being undertaken in collaboration by the CFR (APRA, ASIC, RBA and Treasury) with other financial sector regulators – the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA), the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) – collectively known as ‘CFR Plus’.

The roadmap comprises a series of coordinated activities the CFR Plus are undertaking to advance the Government’s better regulation agenda. These coordinated activities include implementing the regulator’s commitments made as part of the Economic Reform Roundtable in 2025, streamlining data collections and data sharing, and identifying priority legislative reforms to support better regulation.

You can find out more about this initiative here.

Join the discussion.                       

If you’re interested in joining in ACSA’s discussions and response to market initiatives and industry consultations, please connect to us at admin@acsa.com.au.

Members Update

Next Generation Leaders – Speed Networking Event

The ACSA Next Gen Leaders Speed Networking Event, held in Sydney on 14 May, was a resounding success with the session fully booked out.

The event brought together 11 senior executives from across the industry—including leaders from JPMorgan, BNP Paribas, Citibank, Northern Trust, and State Street—who generously gave up their time to share insights and advice. With 50 attendees participating, the evening provided an invaluable opportunity for professional development.

Participant feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Attendees described the evening as energising, inspiring, and motivating for their leadership journeys. Many noted it was one of the most rewarding networking experiences they had been part of and thoroughly enjoyed every moment. Attendees found this format incredibly useful, with the breadth of perspectives far exceeding their expectations.

ACSA Next Gen will look to make this a regular event, continuing to foster connections and leadership development within the industry.

ACSA thanks the executives who attended for making the event such a success and also thanks JPMorgan for generously hosting and catering the event.

ACSA Thought Leadership Program

Here is an insight into upcoming ASCA Thought Leadership Program webinars:

Climate Reporting Obligations – What Asset Owners and Asset Managers Need to Know – and Do

Friday June 19th

Most Australians rely on investment and superannuation funds to safeguard their financial futures. With new climate reporting obligations rolling out across the country, these organisations must not only comply with regulations for transparency on climate-related risks and opportunities, but must also strengthen their approaches to data sourcing, ownership and governance.

Effectively managing and verifying the accuracy of climate-related data is now critical, as these changes influence how funds structure governance, oversee risk management and ensure robust disclosures in the Australian market.

Join us to hear from a super fund, technology provider and a climate risk consultant who will discuss the practical impacts of the new reporting obligations.

Sign up for the webinar here.

Join the discussion. 

If you’re interested in joining in ACSA’s discussions and response to market initiatives and industry consultations, please connect to us at admin@acsa.com.au.

Global Perspective

Big Tech and Securities Services: A Partnership-Driven Approach to Achieving Data and AI Goal

ISSA recently released a white paper strategic highlighting partnerships between Securities Services Providers (including Banks and Financial Market Infrastructures) and Big Tech firms like Apple, Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft. It examines whether the trends in data analytics on their own, and as a foundation for making breakthroughs implementing AI, is driving the most traction around these new strategic partnerships. It also provides insights on how these partnerships are being approached and structured to gain the best impact.

One key conclusion is that these partnerships are not merely about adopting new technologies, they are about co-creating the future of financial services. These partnerships enable institutions to modernise, innovate and transform in ways that would be difficult to achieve independently. As such, they represent a powerful model for industry-wide collaboration and long-term value creation.

Find out more by downloading the report here.

Key Events

• 19 June 2026: ACSA Thought Leadership Program – Climate Reporting
•  31 July 2026 - ACSA Thought Leadership Program - Artificial Intelligence in Action: How funds are adopting AI

Insights and Updates

• April 2026: ASIC CP387 Beneficial Ownership Consultation
  
• April 2026: Letter to Treasury re ST FX Election
  
• January 2026: ACSA submission on Treasury Laws Amendment (Better Targeted Superannuation Concessions) Bill 2025
  

Robert Poulter – Northern Trust

Robert Poulter is a Senior Vice President and Head of Country Operations for Australia at Northern Trust, based in Melbourne. In this role, he oversees the delivery of custody services across entitlements, income, corporate governance and trade processing, as well as alternatives, derivatives and Investment Risk and Analytic Services (IRAS).

Robert brings deep operational leadership experience to Northern Trust, having held a range of senior management roles within custody operations at NAB Asset Servicing. His responsibilities there included oversight of the New Zealand operations, derivatives, managed funds, corporate actions and transfer agency functions. During his tenure at NAB, Robert also led several large-scale transformation initiatives focused on operational efficiency and service excellence.

Earlier in his career, Robert held various roles within the transfer agency business at Bank of New York (Europe). He began his career in the stockbroking industry in New Zealand, where he spent 15 years developing extensive market and operational expertise.
Robert holds a Master of Business Administration (Finance) from Deakin University.

Quick fire five

Coffee or Tea? Tea and much to horror of some, I leave the tea bag in the cup.
Tik Tock, Instagram or Facebook? Instagram
Pop, Rock or Rap? I grew up on Elvis Presley so Rock it is.
Cocktail or Wine? Why choose?? If I had to it would be wine. Have developed a liking for a great French champagne or an Italian Fiano
Summer or Winter? Summer as I can spend more time outdoors in the garden


First of all, congratulations on a very successful career, what have been your career highlights and what are you most proud of when you look back on your career?
There are many highlights that I could write about, but one would be in the implementation of a major project when I first joined Northern Trust which enabled our direct AUD clearing capability. The success of the project was recognised with the team receiving recognition from our Chairman. The proudest moment would be when Northern Trust was awarded Gold in the LGBTQ+ AWEI Inclusion awards. Going on stage to collect the award made me proud to work for an organisation that supports the LGBTQ+ community.

How did you first begin working in financial services/asset servicing?
My financial services career started in retail banking many years ago. After a few years in banking, I continued my career journey in stockbroking in New Zealand. After a few years overseas I joined National Nominees Limited NZ (part of NAB Asset Servicing) in 2003.

What was your first role in financial services and how did you end up in your current role?
My first role in Asset Servicing was as the manager of National Nominees. It was a very small office of 5 people servicing NAB’s sub custody clients. This was the perfect introduction to asset servicing as you could not just sit back, with it being a small office I had to pitch in and learn all aspects of custody operations, including financial accounting, relationship management and client servicing.

I have been very lucky in my career that I have been in the right place at the right time and that includes my current role. I reached out to an ex-colleague of mine who worked for Northern Trust asking him to let me know if he knew of any roles that were going. The next day I had a call from Northern Trust with the perfect role and eight years later here I am. My current role brings together all the experience I have gained in custody operations but also the ability to work with some great people.

Tell us about you involvement with ACSA and the value ACSA brings to the industry.
I have been involved with ACSA formally now for just over two years when I took on the co-chair, and now chair, role of the operations working group. In addition, I am currently the chair of the Inclusion working group.

ACSA plays an important part in the custody industry as it gives us all the opportunity to discuss issues, change and ideas that may impact all houses. It is the adage that there is strength in numbers, and this is true with ACSA as they have been involved in a number of collective submissions, ensuring our point of view is raised.

In addition, they are helping develop people from across the industry giving them the platform to develop with groups such Elevating Women and Next Generation leaders.

What advice would you give to the younger professionals the industry?
Get involved, ask questions and use every opportunity to network. You never know but that network connection could lead to a future opportunity.