CSLR revises down levy estimate
The Compensation Scheme of Last Resort has released its revised levy estimate for the 2026 financial year, representing a marginal reduction.
The reduction sees the levy estimate down from $77.975 million to $75.698 million.
The CSLR said the need for the revised estimate was triggered due to the initial levy estimate issued in January exceeding the $20 million sub-sector cap for the personal financial advice sub-sector.
The CSLR statement said the key movements in comparison to the initial FY26 estimate are in the personal financial advice sub-sector, seeing a decrease of $2.821m and the securities dealing sector, with an increase of $2.380m.
Personal financial advice
As the personal financial advice subsector estimate exceeds the sub-sector cap of $20m, the Scheme has notified the Minister for financial services of the need for a special levy of $47.289m.
Securities dealing
The revised estimate for the securities dealing sub-sector is $4.7m. The $2.4m increase will be funded by CSLR’s cash reserves and recovered in the FY27 annual levy for securities dealing.
Commenting on the move, CSLR chief executive, David Berry said the harm caused by those in the finance sector doing the wrong thing disproportionately impacts and detracts from those acting correctly, noting that the rate and number of firm failures show little sign of abating.
“Whilst we are disappointed at the need for a special levy, we recognise these funds provide a measure of compensation for those who have experienced lengthy and stressful financial loss, Berry said.
The CSLR continues to operate in alignment with the legislative framework in a manner that is effective, efficient and economical as we strive to increase consumer trust across the financial services sector.”
Awesome Govt theft.
CSLR = $5k each per adviser.
To pay for ASICs incompetence and others poor and or criminal behaviour.
What other profession or industries people are forced to pay for mistakes they have nothing to do with ?
Why are good advisers punished for the sins of others. You have got individual advisers leaving the industry over these obscene costs that are not ours. It’s theft and advisers who have been robbed by this scheme need to reject this theft.
For the sake of $75m of money good advisers should not be paying we are losing good people hand over fist which makes the cost of advice all that much greater, and makes access to real decent advice near impossible for the majority. This impost has the opposite affect than what the original royal commission set out to achieve.
So far the Royal Commission has achieved the following:
1/ Halving of the industry’s 32000 advisers to less than 16,000 and falling
2/ The destruction of a viable personal insurance industry, and a decimation of those that provided and sold it.
3/ The massive increase in insurance costs across the board for those forced to keep it.
4/ A restrictive process to enter the industry contributing to the decline of new entrants and experience.
5/ The dawn of finfluencers giving unqualified financial advice
6/ A proposal for more unqualified advice coming from vertically aligned product providers (i.e. industry funds) to be disguised as qualified financial advice.
7/ Financial advice costs to provide advice at all time highs, and profits narrowing daily because of extortionate unjustified levies.
8/ The government failed to protect the consumers from rogue individuals and seeks to now open up more massive conflicts of interest for consumers via industry funds quasi advice. The government failed to protect, therefore they should pay for there bad policy, not honest operators.
Can someone tell the CSLR boss David Berry he has to make do with what he gets. We’d all like more money but ripping off current advisers for past fk-ups is wrong on all measures