Levy MISs, not SMSFs say accountants

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor and Publisher

12 June 2026

Pressure continues to mount on the Government to ensure that any changes to the funding arrangements for the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR) ensures that Managed Investment Schemes (MISs) pay their way.

A united front has developed on the issue of levying MISs from industry superannuation funds represented by the Super Members Council right through to financial advisers and the major accounting groups.

This was reinforced yesterday by CPA Australia which restated that “the people responsible for losses should pay for them and arguing that while MISs should be included in the CSLR levy, the Government should abandon proposals to incude self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs).

Referencing the joint submission on CSLR funding from all the major accounting groups, CPA Australia Superannuation lead, Richard Webb said seeking to include SMSFs would unfairly burden investors while failing to address the true causes of financial losses.

“Singling out specific groups of retail investors for the loss of statutory protections won’t fix the unsustainably expensive CSLR levy. It simply shifts costs onto investors while ignoring the upstream drivers of loss – including product failures and misconduct prior to advice and distribution,” Webb said.

He emphasised that the CSLR must operate as a genuine last-resort scheme, supported by effective oversight and accountability right across the financial system.

“For the CSLR to deliver the greatest benefit, it must truly be a scheme of last resort, and that means the upstream links in the chain must work properly. A sustainable model requires all sectors responsible for those losses – particularly managed investment schemes – to contribute fairly,” he said.

“It’s critical that costs caused by product failures are internalised by relevant product issuers, rather than being borne by unrelated sectors through special levies.

“Strong product governance must be incentivised, rather than increasing systemic risk and cross-subsidisation.”

Webb said proposals to shift costs onto SMSFs were poorly designed and risked undermining confidence in the system.

“Making SMSFs fund the CSLR directly is poor policy, especially given that the current funding problems were caused by earlier failures. The people responsible for those losses should pay for them – not the investors who were harmed.

“The current CSLR regime already shows the unfair and disproportionate cost burden imposed on currently registered financial advisors and extending this to SMSFs simply compounds the problem.”

CPA Australia is calling for a holistic approach to CSLR funding, including product providers and relevant service providers, to ensure accountability across the financial services sector while maintaining fair protections for all investors.