Will the industry get value for its regulatory dollar?
The superannuation industry will be paying two sets of levies to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and it wants to see greater transparency to determine whether it is getting value for money.
That is the bottom line of an Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) submission to the Treasury responding to the Proposed Financial Institutions Supervisory Levies for 2018‐19.
The ASFA submission points to the two sets of levies being extracted from the sector and states “this underscores the need for enhanced transparency regarding ASIC’s cost recovery arrangements” but then argues that such transparency does not actually exist.
It said the levy discussion paper did not provide a sufficient disaggregation of the ASIC levy component for 2018‐19 (including for the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal).
“For the ATO, the FISLs Discussion Paper proposes a 44 per cent increase in levies for administering the Superannuation Lost Member Register and the Unclaimed Superannuation Money Framework,” it said.
“ASFA supports improved processes to reunite individuals with lost and unclaimed superannuation. However, given the significant increase in levies, ASFA considers the ATO should provide more details of its programmes.”
The submission said the levy Discussion Paper had not stated whether the levies (in whole or in part) related to 2018‐19 Budget measure Protecting Your Super.
“The superannuation industry is currently facing increased scrutiny, including as a result of the Productivity Commission’s (PC’s) review of efficiency and competitiveness of the superannuation system, and the enhanced disclosure requirements in relation to fees and costs,” it said.
“As such, ASFA considers it appropriate that a high level of scrutiny should apply with respect to the costs recovered from industry via the FISLs.”
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