The appointment of the first female head of Australia's corporate watchdog has been welcomed by the finance industry as a milestone for gender equity.
Sarah Court, the incoming chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, will be the first woman to lead the regulator in its 35-year history.
Her appointment by Treasurer Jim Chalmers is the latest in a string of female leaders appointed to high-profile positions at Australia's top economic institutions by the Albanese government.
Dr Chalmers previously appointed Michele Bullock as the first woman to lead the Reserve Bank of Australia, Danielle Wood as the Productivity Commission's first female chair and Jenny Wilkinson as the first woman to lead the Treasury.
Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia chief executive Mary Delahunty said Ms Court had the respect of the super industry as a tough, fair and highly capable regulator.
"Her appointment as the first female in the role is an important milestone for gender equity in Australia's financial regulatory leadership," Ms Delahunty said.
The superannuation sector has drawn ASIC's scrutiny in recent years over excessive delays in paying out deaths benefits as well as the high-profile collapses of the Shield and First Guardian managed investment funds.
As ASIC's deputy chair for almost five years under outgoing boss Joe Longo, Ms Court helped oversee a transformation of its internal processes and a significant step-up in enforcement, commencing 252 investigations in 2024/25, up from 168 the previous financial year.
Ms Court said it would be business as usual until her appointment begins on June 1.
"ASIC's work is critically important for all Australians and it will be a privilege to take on the role of chair in June," she said.
Mr Longo said Ms Court was an exceptional regulator "with a strong record in enforcement that demonstrates her integrity and impact".
Dr Chalmers thanked Mr Longo for his "significant contribution" in strengthening ASIC's capability.
As an experienced litigator and leader, Ms Court will make a positive impact on one of Australia's major regulators, Dr Chalmers said.
The announcement came shortly after it was revealed the treasurer wrote to Mr Longo urging ASIC to remove the home addresses of company directors from publicly-accessible registers amid heightened security concerns following the Bondi terror attack.
In a letter seen by AAP, Dr Chalmers said there had been "longstanding concerns about the availability of directors' personal information".
The watchdog will still gather and hold the information, but it will no longer be accessible on ASIC and third-party portals, following advice from ASIO director-general Mike Burgess.
"We are very concerned about the sorts of threats that are being that are being made, and so I consider this to be a very important, sensible change," Dr Chalmers told ABC Radio on Tuesday.
"We need to make sure that we're going to have a transparent system, but one where public safety is not compromised, and that's why the change has been made."
