The financial adviser levy will increase to more than $3200 for the 2023 financial year, taking it past the level the industry had previously complained was too high and unsustainable.
The increased levy, which has been set at $3217 per adviser, passes the figure that would have been applied during 2021 of $3138 per adviser, but was frozen at $1142 per adviser by the then Superannuation, Financial Services and the Digital Economy Minister Jane Hume.
The increased levy was flagged earlier this week by Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones, who said the freeze on the levy applied to the 2021 and 2022 financial years would not continue.
The levy figure was released by ASIC in the latest Cost Recovery Implementation Statement (CRIS) for 2022/23, which states licensees will continue to pay a $1500 levy and the total estimated cost recovery amount from the financial advice sector would be $55.52 million drawn from 2655 licensees and 16,019 advisers.
In the CRIS, ASIC noted the cost of regulating the advice sector had varied little from 2021/22 to 2022/23, with its costs decreasing from $56.7 million to $55.5 million.
Of that latter figure, it estimated it would spend $9.54 million on supervision and surveillance, $18.19 million on enforcement activities and $2.41 million on engaging with industry and providing education and guidance, and noted the published levies were a guide only.
“Final levies will be based on ASIC’s actual cost of regulating each subsector and the business metrics submitted by entities. Final levies will be published in December 2023 and invoiced between January and March 2024,” it said.
