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Advisers receive CSLR levy invoices as ASIC cancels AFSL

Mike Taylor20 August 2024
ASIC CSLR letterhead

Financial advisers have begun receiving their levy notices to fund the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR) with the admonition that they face a 20% late payment penalty.

Financial advisers have shared the invoices received from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) which informed them that “your levy has been calculated using the ASIC Industry Funding business activity metrics you submitted between July and September 2023″.

The CSLR levy notices also declare that if the advice businesses did not provide that information, then ASIC “used metrics available to us to calculate the levy”.

“A late payment penalty of 20% p.a. calculated monthly will apply until your levy is paid. If your levy is not paid in full after 12 months, ASIC may cancel your licence and deregister your company,” it said.

ASIC yesterday noted that it had broken new ground by cancelling a financial planning license following a payment of compensation from the CSLR.

The regulator said that it had cancelled the Australian Financial Services License (AFSL) of liquidated former national financial advisory business, Libertas Financial Planning.

ASIC noted that the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) made a determination against Libertas in July, last year, which Libertas had failed to pay.

It said that on 24 July, the CSLR paid an amount of compensation to a person for the AFCA determination and notified ASIC.

“On 14 August 2024, ASIC cancelled the Australian financial service licence of Libertas,” ASIC said.

ASIC also noted that the AFCA complaint process must first be completed before a claim can be lodged with the CSLR and that all reasonable steps to obtain compensation from the financial firm must be taken before a CSLR payment can be made.

In the case of Dixon Advisory ASIC held that the company should maintain its membership of AFCA so that clients could have access to the CSLR.

Mike Taylor

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor/Publisher, Financial Newswire

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Really
1 month ago

So proper adviser pay when a business fails and in this case it is a listed company called Sequoia who bought Libertas, moved the advisers to its other owned AFSL called InterPrac, liquidated Libertas, mismanaged all of that and then together failed in any concept of supervision of their AR’s and we get the benefit of this incompetence via the CSLR – really? I hope this is not the new corporate approach to managing an AFSL in 2024 and beyond.

Anon
1 month ago
Reply to  Really

I fear this is very much the new corporate approach. We have seen it taken up with gusto already. The former AMP licensees have now been taken over by a company with very few assets, but links to a separate business that earns product revenue. If there’s a major product or advice failure they will obviously transfer the operations to a new licensee, shut down the original licensee company, and just like Dixons and Libertas, no-one will be held to account. Innocent advisers will be expected to pick up the consumer compensation tab via CSLR.

ASIC, Treasury, and the government have created yet another way to harm consumers and destroy professional advice.

Wildcat
1 month ago

Al Capone is learning from ASIC

DO NOT PAY CSLR DIXONS
1 month ago

DO NOT PAY COMPOSLR FOR DODGY DIXONS MIS FIASCO.
Advisers and their AFSLs must on mass refuse to pay this Levy!!!
Let’s see Jonesy, ASIC, CSLR try to shut down the whole Advice Profession because :
– ASIC did nothing for 10 years and 60 complaints for Dodgy Dixon’s MIS
– AISC let Dodgy Dixon’s float on the ASX with full knowledge of the MIS fiasco
– ASIC let Dodgy Dixon’s 39 Advisers and 3,000 clients Illegally Phoenix to E&P for zero consideration.
– Jones, Big Banks, ASIC & CSLR fraudulently designed this Compo scheme to exclude MIS directly paying for their blowups
– Treasury employs Nerida Cole, an Adviser boss at Dixon’s that oversaw this MIS fiasco and think she should now regulate Advisers
– Treasury have back dated this 1 single MIS fiasco for the benefit of their own stupid staff the invested with Dodgy Dixon’s
– Jonesy & Treasury devise to not pay first 12 mths of CSLR like promised & only pay first 3 mths with the most pathetic 1 Dixon’s case paid for.
Dodgy Dixon’s CSLR cannot get any more corrupt, any more manipulated and any more beyond acceptable.
DO NOT PAY
WILL NOT PAY

Had it
1 month ago

I constantly read how FAAA are fighting this ?? It appears with their hands tied behind their back?
What are you going to do Phil ? Talk is not enough here They ride “ rough shot” over everything FAAA requests and move ahead despite their empty promises to listen and react !!
Apart from pay this any strategic advice ?

Alan
1 month ago
Reply to  Had it

That’s why I resigned from the FAAA

Weird
1 month ago

Let us know how that works out for you.

ALL Real Advisers Unite
1 month ago
Reply to  Weird

Obviously it won’t work out well for only a few AFSLs / Advisers to refuse to pay.
If Real Advisers & their AFSLs can’t unite on total rejection of Dixon’s CSLR theft, then I do t think it will ever be possible to unite Real Advisers.

Weird
1 month ago

Can someone share the costs they got ?

Disgrace
1 month ago

And to make matters worse, the major AFSLs are colluding to collect the levy for each other when an adviser has left and joined a new AFSL since 2023.