ASIC staffing cost $297 million

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor and Publisher

26 February 2024

As financial advisers continue to rail against the cost of regulation, including the ASIC levy, new research has confirmed the level of growth in Australia’s regulatory bureaucracy.

The same research, undertaken by the Institute of Public Affairs, suggests, however, that compared to other portfolios, growth in the level of regulation under the Treasury portfolio has been relatively modest compared to those covered by Climate Change and Environment and Veterans Affairs.

However, it also said the Treasury portfolio is expected to experience the largest increase in the number of staff this year, primarily due to changes in staffing levels within the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

What is more, the research confirms that the number of regulatory staff within the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has actually declined along with associated costs, while those attaching to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) have actually gone up.

The IPA analysis shows that the number of regulatory staff within ASIC stood at 1,846 in 2022-23 and stands at 1,810 in 2023-24, while staff costs declined from $313 million to $297 million.

At the same time, APRA’s staffing rose from 853 to 855 with the cost of employing those staff rising from $158 million to $171 million.

The IPA research found what it described as “red tape enforcers” across the Commonwealth public service would be more than 98,800 people, an increase of more than 8,000 people or over 9% over the 2024 financial year.

However, more startlingly, this number represents an 18% increase since 2022.

Discussing its findings, the IPA said that red tape is currently an unsolved and accelerating problem that “is preventing the recovery, development and expansion of the national economy”.

The IPA recommended the Government addressed the issue via a number of mechanisms including removing at least two regulations for every new regulation created and applying sunset clauses overseen by a Sunset Commission.