ASIC CFD levy for retail issuers will fall 23% in 2025-26 to A$128,388 per firm, even as the regulator’s total industry recovery rises to A$400.52 million.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission published the estimate in its 2025-26 Cost Recovery Implementation Statement on Monday. The new charge compares with A$166,679 a year earlier. Meanwhile, ASIC expects to recover A$400.52 million across 52 regulated subsectors, up 18.6% from A$337.57 million in 2024-25.
ASIC CFD Levy Moves Lower
The lower ASIC CFD levy reflects a smaller cost pool for the retail OTC derivatives subsector. That pool fell to A$9.32 million from A$12.11 million. At the same time, the number of firms stayed broadly steady at about 73.
ASIC said costs increased across every sector. However, the market infrastructure and intermediaries group, which includes brokers, dealers and exchange operators, posted the smallest rise. Its costs edged up 1.9% to A$68.63 million from A$67.38 million.
By contrast, other sectors saw larger gains. Financial advice rose 34.5%, insurance increased 35.4%, and the corporate sector climbed 22.9%. ASIC linked the overall increase to the timing of spending and extra funding for its regulatory, supervision and enforcement work.
Oversight Remains in Place
Although the levy is lower, ASIC has kept pressure on the retail OTC derivatives sector. The regulator directed seven brokers, including CMC Markets, IG and Pepperstone, to return A$4.3 million to retail clients over leverage breaches.
Two nearby categories also saw lower charges. The per-staff levy on OTC traders dropped to A$4,150 from A$5,351. In addition, securities dealers will pay A$31.13 per million dollars of annual turnover, down from A$38.24.
ASIC has kept retail leverage caps in place since 2021 and extended them for another five years. The regulator also cancelled the licence of broker AIMS after it missed more than a year of industry funding charges.
The estimates are not final bills. ASIC will publish final levies in December 2026 and send invoices between January and March 2027. Therefore, the amounts may change once actual costs are known. ASIC also flagged new derivative reporting obligations that brokers must meet alongside the annual charge.
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