The Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA) has revealed the financial adviser levy is likely to be lower than anticipated for the 2023 financial year after revised cost recovery figures used to calculate the number were released.
FAAA chief executive Sarah Abood expected the revised levy to be lower than the $3200 figure announced by the Australian Investments and Securities Commission (ASIC) in June after seeking clarification from the corporate regulator about the method it used to calculate the levy.
“ASIC has released the final figures that will apply for the ASIC funding levy for the 2022/23 financial year in two legislative instruments. Based on the information in the legislative instruments, we estimate that the final amount will be around $400 per adviser lower than the original estimate, at $2818 per adviser,” Abood said.
“When ASIC published their estimates for the 2022/23 year in June, the total cost recoveries for financial advisers providing personal advice to retail clients was estimated at $55.5 million.
“The FAAA challenged this number and the underlying methodology used to arrive at it, as well as the lack of transparency in the calculations. In these final numbers, the total cost for our sector has reduced by nearly $8 million to $47.6 million.”
While welcoming the expected reduction in the adviser levy, she noted ASIC and Treasury would need to revisit elements of the funding model.
“We remain concerned at the overall size of the levy and the lack of transparency around how it is calculated. We will continue to work with ASIC, Treasury and the Minister’s office to support and encourage further changes, including the implementation of the improvements to the industry funding model that were recommended by Treasury in its recent review,” she said.
In a separate announcement, the FAAA said it has appointed Louise Trevaskis to the newly created role of head of university and student programs as part of its strategy to bring more graduates into the financial planning profession.
FAAA general manager of education and professionalism Anne Palmer said after more than 20 years working as an educator and professional in the financial advice sector, Trevaskis was well prepared to fulfil the new role.
“Louise’s background and experience are a great fit to help us grow the number of advisers at the same time as more Australians than ever are in need of quality financial advice,” Palmer said.