ASIC reports $31 million surplus

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor and Publisher

23 October 2024

At the same time as financial advisers worry about the scale of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) levy the regulator has revealed it collected $2,062 million in fees, charges and supervisory cost recovery levies on behalf of the Government last financial year.

The regulator also reported a surplus of $31 million part of which was made up from $13 million in court cost recovery revenue.

ASIC revealed the number in its annual report at the same time s emphasising that the revenue was passed through to the Commonwealth and was not kept by the Commonwealth.

However, it noted that the $2,062 million represented a 12% increase over the 2022-23 financial year.

It said that approximately 99% of ASIC’s operating costs were recovered from the industries it regulates and that around 70% of the costs are funded through the industry funding model with the remaining 29% through fees and charges.

The annual report noted that in the last financial year $2.1 billion was collected, including $316 million through the industry funding models.

“All funds collected go to consolidated revenue and are not available to ASIC,” the report said.

It said that in 2023-24 ASIC reported a surplus of $31 million which was a result of a. number of factors including project delays, the receipt of court cost recovery revenue of $13 million and the appropriation of $12 million for capital projects.

The annual report said these items were offset in part by write-downs and impairments of $17 million, mainly relating to the Modernising Business Registers program assets which were reclassified as operational in nature following the outcome of the Government’s independent review.