(Reuters) - Australia's corporate watchdog said on Thursday its focus next year will be on protecting consumers bearing the brunt of rising cost-of-living pressures by clamping down on wrongdoing across the financial sector.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said it would intensify its spotlight on misconduct that exploits retirement savings, with a particular focus on unscrupulous property investment schemes.

Also on top of its priority target list will be insurers acting in bad faith, "greenwashing", or deceptive environmental marketing, in investment options, business models that skirt safeguards meant to shield consumers from predatory credit practices and protecting the interests of small businesses and their creditors.

"These priorities are about protecting Australians from financial harm and targeting the people who try to take advantage of them," the regulator said in a statement.

The targets underscore increased efforts by Australian regulators to combat misconduct and unfair practices in recent years, a movement largely driven by the findings of a Royal Commission investigation into the financial sector that concluded in 2019.

ASIC in 2023 started 25% more investigations than the previous year and 23% more new civil proceedings. It had enforcement outcomes in areas including greenwashing, cryptocurrencies, predatory lending, high-cost credit and insider trading.

Australia's competition regulator is also taking action to protect consumers, suing supermarket giants Woolworths and Coles over allegations of jacking up prices and luring customers with relatively small discounts. The retailers are also facing a host of influential government inquiries, with some lawmakers calling for breaking them up.

($1 = 1.5434 Australian dollars)