The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has announced it is working with five regtech companies to create a new platform aimed at allowing it to better handle corporate disclosures from listed companies.

The five companies selected to be part of the project are Bedrock AI Aus, DigitalX, Eastern Analytica, Listcorp, and Pyxta.

The project is being funded by the Department of Industry under the Business Research and Innovation Initiative (BRII), with the selected companies each receiving up to AU$100,000 in grants.

The BRII challenge is focused on developing technology solutions that help ASIC better analyse corporate disclosures, with the goal being to deliver a more efficient and effective way for the regulator to supervise and enforce disclosure and reporting obligations of listed companies.

As part of the project, the five companies will each work on creating a platform and following this stage of development, two of the five regtech entities may receive further grants of up to AU$1 million to develop and test a proof of concept over a further 15 months, ASIC said.

"Working towards an innovative solution has the potential to transform ASIC's ability to harness technology to reduce regulatory burden, while enhancing market integrity," ASIC commissioner Cathie Armour said.

The brief for the platform is that it can analyse corporate disclosures and other datasets. ASIC also wants the platform to be able to identify and assess compliance by listed companies with a range of requirements, including disclosure obligations to the market, financial reporting obligations, the prohibition against misleading or deceptive disclosure, and the prohibition against practices that manipulate the pricing of securities.

DigitalX on Tuesday morning said it expected to deliver its version of the platform in May. 

In addition to creating the platform, DigitalX said it would also assess commercial pathways for use of the solution by other regulatory agencies and listed companies internationally. It will also produce a report on the feasibility of the solution for broader adoption.  

Outside of ASIC, the Department of Industry has also provided grants through BRII to five projects in the agricultural sector, five projects for real-time asbestos testing, and two projects for streamlining marine autonomous systems assurance.

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