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Treasury probed on CSLR costs, spending

Mike Taylor8 November 2024
Oversight

Senior Treasury officials have been queried over the cost of the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR) and why scheme representatives are not appearing before Senate Estimates.

The queries succeeded in confirming that that the CSLR had cost $290 million, so far.

NSW Liberal Senator, Andrew Bragg used a Budget estimates hearing of the Senate Economics Committee to ask Treasury officials to explain the costs associated with the CSLR, including who the scheme reports to.

Treasury officials seemed to have limited knowledge of the scheme beyond it being chaired by Jo-Anne Bloch and the CSLR chief executive being David Berry.

The officials did acknowledge, however, that a number of levies had been paid with the first being from the 10 largest banks and insurers amounting to $241 million, followed by $4.8 million by the Commonwealth and then $24.1 million by the industry paid in October.

When asked who the CSLR reports to, the Treasury officials said that the department engages which the CSLR operator, which is physically located in Melbourne.

Bragg then queried how the CSLR’s administrative cost had originally been states as $3.7 million but was now being estimated at $6.4 million.

“That is vastly higher. What is it spending the money on?” he asked.

Bragg also questioned the Treasury officials about a CSLR job advertisement for a communications partner.

“What is that job?” he asked.

“Why so much money on administration and communications,” the Senator asked.

Mike Taylor

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor/Publisher, Financial Newswire

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Corrupt, conflicted & Expensive
11 days ago

Treasury now truely believe they are above the law, above answering questions and can do whatever they want.
Corrupt, conflicted and extremely costly Treasury, ASIC, CSLR & AFCA are wildly out of control in their own heads of importance and our pockets to pay for their secretive fantasy world.

Get stuffed CSLR
11 days ago

What’s $290 mill been spent on ?
So the big institutions are going to pay for 5% of Dodgy Dixons ???
Govt paid for 1 Dixon’s claim.

Sue
11 days ago

“Why so much money on administration and communications?” It’s the only way Canberra knows how to (not) do things.
Bureaucrats voting themselves pots of money.
Not out of my pocket. I’m out of here.

Fed up
11 days ago

Why do we need to pay for any of this.
Doesn’t happen in any other profession.
An abject disgrace.
BTW – Where is the red tape relief ?
Where is it !!

XTA
10 days ago

This is what happens when government bureaucrats get an open chequebook funded by private industry and little oversight. CSLR and ASIC levy both have similar issues. It’s no wonder productivity in Aus is down the drain.

Terry G
10 days ago

I watched Bragg tear into them yesterday in Senate Estimates.

Another ALP Canberra joke.

$6.4 million in administration costs?

The admin cost for CSLR is more than the Government contribution of $4.8m.

Seriously……

ALP out.

Last edited 10 days ago by Terry G
Andy
10 days ago

the CSLR is a ‘legal’ shakedown of all FSP’s

It’s total BS