Financial Services Compensation Scheme of Last Resort Levy (Collection) (Cost Estimates for 2025-26 Levy Period) Determination 2025

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme of Last Resort Levy (Collection) (Cost Estimates for 2025-26 Levy Period) Determination 2025 is a Commonwealth legislative instrument made under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme of Last Resort Levy (Collection) Act 2023. It is made by Compensation Scheme of Last Resort Limited, identified in the instrument as the operator of the financial services compensation scheme of last resort.

Its role is specific. It sets the determined estimates of claims, fees and costs for the 2025-26 levy period for four levy sub-sectors. Those sub-sectors are credit intermediaries, credit providers, licensed personal advice and securities dealers. The instrument also states excess amounts that are deducted in working out those estimates.

That distinction matters. This determination is not the whole levy regime and it does not, on its own text, tell a business exactly what it will personally be charged or when. Instead, it supplies the cost estimate figures that sit inside the broader levy framework created by the Act.

The instrument applies by reference to four named sub-sectors. It says each of those sub-sector expressions has the same meaning as in the Financial Services Compensation Scheme of Last Resort Levy Regulations 2023. That means the legal boundaries are not fully set out here. A business cannot safely classify itself by using only a trading description or a broad industry label.

In practice, this means businesses should look at their actual regulated activities, licence authorisations and operating structure. A mortgage or finance brokerage may need to check whether it falls within the credit intermediaries sub-sector. A lender may need to check whether it falls within the credit providers sub-sector. An advice practice needs to consider whether it is within the licensed personal advice sub-sector. A dealing business needs to check whether it falls within the securities dealers sub-sector.

Groups with multiple entities should be especially careful. One entity in a corporate group may sit in one sub-sector while another entity sits elsewhere or outside the listed sub-sectors. The instrument does not resolve those classification questions for you. The same caution applies where a business operates through authorised representatives, outsourced arrangements or other layered structures.

You should pay attention to this determination if your business is already operating in one of the listed sub-sectors, is applying for authorisations that may place it in one of them, or is budgeting for regulatory costs for the 2025-26 financial year. The instrument commenced on 1 February 2025, and the levy period it deals with starts on 1 July 2025.

That timing creates a practical planning window. Businesses in or near the listed sub-sectors should use the period before 1 July 2025 to confirm classification, review budgets and brief decision-makers. This is particularly important where the business has thin margins, investor reporting obligations, or a board that expects early visibility of sector-based regulatory costs.

Another trigger point is any business reviewing its complaints, remediation or dispute handling exposure. While this instrument does not itself set operational conduct rules, it forms part of a framework dealing with compensation scheme costs. Businesses should not leave levy-related planning until after the levy period has started.

The instrument sets a separate determined estimate for each of the four listed sub-sectors for the 2025-26 levy period.

The determined estimate for the credit intermediaries sub-sector is $2,723,315.13.

The determined estimate for the credit providers sub-sector is $2,798,530.77.

The determined estimate for the licensed personal advice sub-sector is $70,109,666.88.

The determined estimate for the securities dealers sub-sector is $2,343,026.86.

For many businesses, the most striking figure is the licensed personal advice estimate, which is much larger than the estimates for the other listed sub-sectors. That does not tell an individual advice business exactly what it will pay, but it is a strong signal that this sub-sector has materially larger estimated costs within the statutory framework for this levy period.

The instrument does more than publish four headline numbers. For each sub-sector, it states that the determined estimate is made under subsection 9(1) of the Act and is the sum of specified amounts for paragraph 9(1)(a), paragraph 9(1)(b), paragraph 9(1)(c) and paragraph 9(1)(e), less the relevant excess amounts.

It also breaks the paragraph 9(1)(b) amount into four components linked to subparagraphs 9(1)(b)(i) to (iv) of the Act. For all four sub-sectors in this instrument, the paragraph 9(1)(c) amount is $0.00 and the paragraph 9(1)(e) amount is $0.00.

The instrument includes a note stating that no amounts have been included in relation to subparagraph 9(1)(b)(v) and paragraph 9(2)(c) of the Act because those provisions do not apply until the fourth or later levy periods. It also notes that the 2025-26 levy period is the third levy period.

For businesses, the practical reading is that the estimate is a statutory calculation with components and deductions. If you are trying to understand how the published estimate fits into the levy framework, you need to read this determination together with the Act rather than treating the figure as a free-standing amount.

The instrument gives a detailed breakdown for each sub-sector. That can be useful if your business needs to understand the published estimate at a more granular level for board papers, budgeting or internal analysis.

For the credit intermediaries sub-sector, the paragraph 9(1)(a) amount is $1,029,650.51 and the paragraph 9(1)(b) amount is $1,915,786.62, made up of $210,145.75, $1,063,974.20, $225,000.00 and $416,666.67. The paragraph 9(1)(c) amount is $0.00 and the paragraph 9(1)(e) amount is $0.00, less the relevant excess amounts.

For the credit providers sub-sector, the paragraph 9(1)(a) amount is $214,812.54 and the paragraph 9(1)(b) amount is $2,710,773.23, made up of $976,059.21, $1,093,047.35, $225,000.00 and $416,666.67. The paragraph 9(1)(c) amount is $0.00 and the paragraph 9(1)(e) amount is $0.00, less the relevant excess amounts.

For the licensed personal advice sub-sector, the paragraph 9(1)(a) amount is $59,528,821.67 and the paragraph 9(1)(b) amount is $11,883,095.21, made up of $8,001,097.57, $2,840,330.97, $625,000.00 and $416,666.67. The paragraph 9(1)(c) amount is $0.00 and the paragraph 9(1)(e) amount is $0.00, less the relevant excess amounts.

For the securities dealers sub-sector, the paragraph 9(1)(a) amount is $760,242.04 and the paragraph 9(1)(b) amount is $1,927,462.82, made up of $222,146.81, $1,063,649.34, $225,000.00 and $416,666.67. The paragraph 9(1)(c) amount is $0.00 and the paragraph 9(1)(e) amount is $0.00, less the relevant excess amounts.

The instrument separately states excess amounts for each sub-sector. In simple terms, these are amounts from earlier periods that the instrument says are deducted when working out the determined estimate.

For the purposes of subsection 9(1) and paragraph 9(2)(a) of the Act, the excess amount for an earlier levy period is $0.00 for each of the four listed sub-sectors.

For the purposes of subsection 9(1) and paragraph 9(2)(b) of the Act, the excess amount for the first levy period is $222,122.00 for credit intermediaries, $127,055.00 for credit providers, $1,302,250.00 for licensed personal advice, and $344,678.00 for securities dealers.

This matters because businesses comparing one levy period to another should not focus only on the headline estimate. The instrument itself shows that prior-period excess amounts can affect the figure used in the statutory framework. If you are preparing budgets or explaining levy settings internally, it is worth noting whether deductions from earlier periods are part of the picture.

This determination does not create a new day-to-day conduct rule for customer interactions. Its practical effect for businesses is more about compliance process, classification and financial planning within the levy framework.

If your business may be in one of the listed sub-sectors, the first step is to confirm that position under the regulations. The second is to use the published estimate as a planning input for the 2025-26 levy period. The third is to read the determination together with the Act if you need to understand how the estimate is used in the broader levy calculation framework.

Businesses should also keep internal records of how they reached their classification view, especially where the business model is mixed or the group structure is complex. That can help with governance, board reporting and later compliance review. If your business is in the licensed personal advice sub-sector, the size of the published estimate means this should be treated as a serious budgeting and governance issue rather than a minor compliance footnote.

The instrument is dated 24 January 2025. It was registered on 31 January 2025. Under its commencement provision, the whole instrument commences on the day after registration, which is 1 February 2025.

The instrument defines the 2025-26 levy period as the 12-month period starting from 1 July 2025. The official register shows the instrument as in force.

For businesses, that means the determination is already operative as a legislative instrument, even though the levy period it addresses begins later. The period between commencement and 1 July 2025 is the practical time to check classification and planning assumptions.

Before relying on this page for business decisions, check three things. First, whether your business really falls within one of the four listed sub-sectors under the regulations. Second, whether the Act creates any notice, assessment or collection steps that apply to your business in addition to the estimate set by this instrument. Third, whether your group structure or representative arrangements change who is legally responsible within the levy framework.

This is especially important for startups, fintechs and professional practices that operate through layered structures or under another entity's licence. The instrument is clear about the estimates, but it is not a complete map of every legal consequence for every business model.