ASIC takes exchange to task over computer glitch delays
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission report also questioned why the ASX told some market participants before others.
On October 12, the ASX's markets announcement platform shut down between 12.11pm and 3.55pm. This prevented the exchange processing or releasing new announcements to the broader market from companies listed on the exchange. In that time, 112 announcements were submitted to the exchange, 23 with price-sensitive information. The ASX froze buy and sell orders on those 23. The problem was not fixed until after the market closed.
ASIC's report shows the ASX took more than two hours to tell some market participants of the computer glitch via its subscriber-only Voiceline message service. It also shows the ASX took more than three hours to put a notice on its website.
That discrepancy meant some traders, those who paid for the subscriber service, knew of the outage one hour before others.
"This information could have been provided earlier to all market users," the report says. "While we are satisfied about ASX Group's operational response to this issue, we question the approach it took to keeping all market users adequately informed."
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
On October 12 the ASX's market announcements platform shut down between 12:11pm and 3:55pm. The outage prevented the exchange from processing or releasing new announcements to the broader market and the problem was not fixed until after the market closed.
During the outage 112 announcements were submitted to the ASX, including 23 that were identified as containing price‑sensitive information.
The ASX froze buy and sell orders on the 23 announcements deemed price‑sensitive while its market announcements platform was down.
ASIC's report shows the ASX took more than two hours to tell some market participants via its subscriber‑only Voiceline message service, and more than three hours to post a notice on its public website.
Yes. Because the Voiceline was a subscriber‑only service, some traders who paid for that service knew about the outage about one hour before others who relied on public notices.
ASIC questioned why the ASX informed some market participants before others and said the information could have been provided earlier to all market users. While ASIC was satisfied with the ASX Group's operational response, it raised concerns about whether all users were kept adequately informed.
The outage stopped the ASX from releasing company announcements during market hours. For the 23 price‑sensitive announcements that arrived during the outage, the ASX froze buy and sell orders, and the platform issue remained unresolved until after the market closed.
The report highlights the importance of timely and equal access to market information. It shows that technical failures can delay market announcements and that differential notification (subscriber services versus public notices) can mean some traders learn about issues sooner than others.
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