Government to end ASIC levy freeze

After releasing the final report of the ASIC Industry Funding Model, the government has decided to end the ASIC levy freeze put in place in 2021.

The freeze was put in place by the Coalition government in August 2021 after ASIC initially estimated advisers would need to pay a flat fee of $1500 per license plus a graduated component of $3138 per adviser, which was more than triple the original $934 fee in FY18.

The freeze saw levies pulled back to the FY19 levels of $1142 per adviser (plus the flat fee component).

In a media release on Tuesday, the Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones said the review recommends reviewing each of the four sub‑sectors that fall within the financial advice sector and whether the existing sub‑sector definitions, metrics and formulas remain appropriate.

“This will be progressed alongside implementation of the Government’s Delivering Better Financial Outcomes package which includes our response to the Quality of Advice review,” he said.