Personal advice AFSLs again hit hardest by ASIC levy

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor and Publisher

14 July 2026

Financial advice licensees providing personal advice to retail clients have again been identified as the most costly segment in terms of Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) expenditure.

The regulator has outlined its estimated recoverable costs underpinning its industry funding model, noting an 18.6% increase over the previous year to $400.52 million with financial advice facing into a 34.5% increase.

Enforcement and supervision and surveillance represent ASIC’s biggest cost centres.

ASIC has released its summary of its estimated costs and levies cover 2025-26 in which it has estimated costs for the financial advice sector detailing an estimate of $48.724 million for AFSLs providing personal advice to retail clients entailing a minimum levy of $1,500 plus $3,037 per adviser.

This compares to 1,265 million and a minimum levy of $548 for licensees providing personal advice to wholesale clients, while licensees providing general advice a working under a cost estimate of $12.340 million and a minimum levy of $10,979.

The estimates come against ASIC’s analysis of total estimated recovery costs for 2025/26 of $400.52 million which it notes is $62.95 million (18.6%) higher than the $337 million in recoverable costs for the 2024-25 year.

The ASIC analysis identifies “enforcement” as its largest area of cost recovery activity at $101.688 million, ahead of supervision and surveillance costed at $81.721 million.

Also on the list is “indirect costs” headed by “commission, corporate legal support, strategy and communications costed at $16.429 million.