The financial adviser levy will only increase by $60 for the 2024 financial year, rising from $2818 to $2878, according to new figures released by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
The marginal increase was revealed in the latest Cost Recovery Implementation Statement (CRIS) for 2023/24, which states licensees will continue to pay a $1500 levy and the total estimated cost recovery amount from the financial advice sector would be $48.39 million drawn from 2766 licensees and 15,371 advisers.
This latter estimated figure is a slight increase from 2022/23’s actual costs of $47.6 million, according to the CRIS, which stated ASIC’s total regulation costs are estimated to be $53.53 million. The additional $6.25 million will be drawn from statutory levies, which includes costs recovered by enforcement.
ASIC stated it planned to spend $6.5 million on supervision and surveillance, $19.5 million on enforcement activities and $3.17 million on engaging with industry and providing education and guidance, and noted the published levies were a guide only.
In the CRIS, the regulator stated it expected to recover $345.6 million of regulatory costs via cost recovery levies and statutory levies drawn from the deposit-taking and credit, investment management, superannuation and related services, market infrastructure and intermediaries, financial advice and insurance sectors in the 2024 financial year.
The adviser levy has been of concern to the advice sector in recent years after it climbed from its initial figure of $934 in 2017/18 to $3214 in 2022/23 before being reduced to $2818.
The SMSF Association noted the industry funding model used by ASIC needed reform and has supported a recommendation by a Senate committee that the regulator draw more of its funding from proactive enforcement work, while being less reliant on levies.
