ASIC recently released its draft Cost Recovery Implementation Statement (CRIS) for 2020-21 outlining the estimated regulatory costs and industry levies for 2020-21.
Earlier this year we wrote about the 2019-20 levies. Responsible entities (REs) and wholesale trustees are again largely spared, with relatively minor increases to the proposed levy rates:
| 2019-20 actual levies | 2020-21 draft levies | |
| Responsible entities | $7,000 plus $16.09 per $1 million of assets above the $10 million threshold | $7,000 plus $20.08 per $1 million of total assets above $10m |
| Wholesale trustees | $1,000 plus $1.51 per $1 million of adjusted total assets | $1,000 plus $2.82 per $1 million of adjusted total assets |
| Custodians | $496 | $699 |
Following significant increases to the 2019-20 levies, ASIC has again targeted the financial advice sector.
The draft CRIS notably outlines the following estimated increases to levies, including:
| 2019-20 actual levies | 2020-21 draft levies | |
| Licensees that provide personal advice to retail clients on relevant financial products | $1,500 plus $2,426 per adviser | $1,500 plus $3,138 per adviser |
| Licensees that provide personal advice to retail clients on products that are not relevant financial products | $2,064 | $2,817 |
| Licensees that provide general advice only | $2,081 | $2,959 |
| Licensees that provide personal advice to wholesale clients only | $29 | $27 |
By way of example, a 'typical' wholesale property fund manager could expect to be invoiced the following amount:
Total: $4,658 plus $2.82 per $1 million of total assets in all unregistered schemes (with some adjustments).
Without factoring in the variable assets under management component, this represents at least $700 in increased levies for a wholesale property fund manager when compared to the current rates.
Please note, the amount of the levy invoice will depend on the 'subsectors' an AFS licensee falls within, which depends on a range of factors.
Feedback on the draft CRIS can be submitted until 13 August 2021, with final levies published in December 2021 and invoiced in January 2022.
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