Budget cuts may hit regulators
Australia's financial services regulators may not escape an array of cuts aimed at reducing costs across the Australian Public Service in tomorrow's Federal Budget.
With public sector unions already warning that the expected Budget cuts will lead to a lowering of services, industry sources have told Money Management that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) can expect to have their budgets squeezed in proportion with other Government agencies.
Any cuts to the ASIC and APRA budgets will follow on from a succession of expenditure increases seen as necessary to enable the regulators to handle the introduction of the Government's Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) and Stronger Super policies.
However, with the bulk of the FOFA regulatory settings now in place and with the Stronger Super framework moving closer to implementation, it is believed the Government holds the view that their level of resourcing can be reduced.
There is concern among financial services executives that any cuts in direct Budget funding to the regulators will be offset by a commensurate increase in the financial services levy, the so-called "APRA levy".
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