The FAAA is continuing to advocate for the ASIC levy to be reduced and is also seeking greater transparency on how the regulator arrives at its costs.
In noting that ASIC has released its Cost Recovery Implementation Statement (see: ASIC Releases CRIS Funding Levy Estimate), the association’s CEO Sarah Abood says at first glance it seems the ASIC levy per adviser will not move much for this financial year, compared to the final levy for the 2022/23 year of $2,818 per adviser.
…this amount remains much too high for a shrinking small business financial advice sector…
Adding that this is just an estimate and the final amount could change, Abood says the FAAA thinks this amount “…remains much too high for a shrinking small business financial advice sector, the vast majority of whom are doing the right thing, yet are paying for supervision and enforcement against those who are not – including those who are unlicensed.”
“We continue to advocate strongly for the ASIC levy to be reduced, along with more transparency on how these costs are arrived at.”
Abood says the association is again calling on the Government to implement the findings of the 2023 Treasury review into ASIC’s Industry Funding Model.
“That report was delivered over a year ago now and seems to be gathering dust.”
She adds that more recommendations to help make the levy fairer and more sustainable are contained in last week’s Senate Economic References Committee report into the capacity and capability of ASIC, to which the FAAA contributed.
“As this report notes, ASIC is a highly profitable operation for the government, making a surplus of $1.4 billion in the 2022/23 financial year. This is in large part because fines and penalties associated with enforcement actions are paid into consolidated revenue. Government has plenty of room to make the levy fairer and more sustainable,” Abood states.
