I accept that that is a faithful cut and paste of the words from...

I accept that that is a faithful cut and paste of the words from your source - but submit it is important to understand what those words mean (and those words do not mean that in practice retailer shareholders can't generally trust the short sales reports. They do mean, in my opinion, that ASIC or ASX accept no legal responsibility for any specific errors in particular reports where the reports are compiled from data others provide to them).

I've been reading too.

To get at whether retail investors or investors generally can trust the reports I submit we need to understand the circumstances in which the short sales reports are generated. I was still reading when I saw your post so will risk reporting prematurely to be timely.

Operating Rules
https://www.asx.com.au/documents/rules/asx_or_section_03.pdf

Operating Procedures.
https://www.asx.com.au/documents/rules/asx_or_procedures.pdf


To be a Market (or Trading) Participant brokers have to obey the Operating Rules or risk being barred or denied access if it can be shown that they are not. ie There is a risk to Market (or Trading) Participants (to the brokers) in not obeying operating rules that is that they might be caught out if they do not. And suffer consequences.

Amongst those Operating Rules there is a requirement on Market and Trading Participants to report short sales.



The procedures show how the rule [3501] is to be followed.




If they (Market or Trading Participants) lie or cheat and get caught (not reporting) they suffer consequences. It is not only retail shareholders but other institutional shareholders that would have an interest in checking out a lying or cheating (as opposed to just mistake making) Market or Trading Participant. So that swings the balance of risk making it less appealing to lie or cheat then it otherwise might be.

We retail shareholders, most of us have heard of Dark Pools and High Frequency Trades - we know that there are tools not generally available to us that are available to others - but that doesn't mean the market is a rule-less free for all. It can't be. Not if it is to serve its function.

The ASX has an obligation under the Corporations Law to ensure a fair orderly and transparent market.


And systemic rorting of the short sales reports would undermine that. In my opinion.