Key facts
- ASIC Commissioner Simone Constant said the regulator would formally investigate Bathla companies for wrongdoing that led to the collapse.
- Constant said the inquiries are broad, citing at least around 42 lenders and 500 special-purpose vehicles.
- Bathla had 219 projects underway when administrators were appointed, including 45 sites under construction, per court documents.
- ASIC stopped Adelaide private credit firm Angas Securities from taking new investments after it did not clearly disclose a Bathla exposure.
- A separate ASIC report said many Australian private credit funds remain too opaque and complex.
Australia's corporate regulator said on November 10, 2026 that it would launch a formal investigation into the A$3.4 billion ($2.3 billion) collapse of Sydney homebuilder Bathla, stepping up scrutiny of the country's private credit funds.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is also separately questioning private credit funds that lent to Bathla. Bathla was put into administration in August and announced it had halted all of its remaining operations and stood down hundreds of workers after it was unable to secure more short-term funding.
ASIC Commissioner Simone Constant said the regulator would officially investigate Bathla companies for any wrongdoing that led to its collapse. "Our inquiries are very broad because this is a large corporate collapse, there are many parties involved and famously there's around 42 lenders at least," Constant told Reuters.
An ASIC inquiry is typically an early-stage fact-finding exercise, while a formal investigation indicates the regulator is examining potential legal or regulatory breaches and may consider enforcement action.
Bathla consisted of hundreds of companies and subsidiaries under its parent firm with an extensive network of lenders, court filings showed. "There are 500 special-purpose vehicles, almost double the number of employees, so the range and breadth of our inquiries is extensive. The formal investigation is in relation to some of the conduct of the affairs of the Bathla group," Constant said.
Bathla had 219 projects underway when administrators were appointed, according to court documents. These included 45 sites under construction, which accounted for a "significant" portion of the company's debt.
ASIC said on November 9 it had stopped Angas Securities, an Adelaide private credit firm, from receiving new investments after it did not disclose clearly an exposure in one fund to Bathla. A separate ASIC report published on November 10 showed many of Australia's private credit funds were still considered too opaque and complex despite the regulator warning the industry needed to become more transparent.