Short Positions Reporting to ASIC

Short Position Reporting Filing Requirements

Short positions are calculated as of 7 pm on the day of the transaction (day T). If a seller has an existing short position in a reportable product above the reporting threshold as of 7 pm on day T, they must provide details of this position to ASIC. Subsequent to making this report, as long as the seller holds a short position in that section 1020B product above the reporting threshold, the seller is obliged to provide daily reports to ASIC on the size of this short position.

ASIC provides relief exempting sellers from reporting a short position where the seller’s short position as of 7 pm on a particular day is less than or equal to

1. $100,000; and
2. 0.01% of the total quantity of securities or products in the relevant class of securities or products

Short position reports are lodged to ASIC using FIX protocol messages sent over a secure network to the ASIC FIX server. A short seller may lodge their own short position reports or may authorise a submitting entity to lodge short position reports on their behalf. Short position reports must be received by ASIC before 9 am three reporting days after the date of the short position.

Publication of Short Position Reports

The total of short positions for financial products on a given reporting day will be published on the ASIC website four days after the reporting day (T+4). These reports will not contain short seller details, and will instead host daily reports of aggregated short positions by issuer for consumption by the public.

About ASIC 

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is responsible for regulating the financial services industry in Australia. It is an independent commission of the Australian Government.