Financial Services Compensation Scheme of Last Resort Levy (Collection) (Initial Cost Estimates for 2026-27 Levy Period) Determination 2025

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme of Last Resort Levy (Collection) (Initial Cost Estimates for 2026-27 Levy Period) Determination 2025 is a Commonwealth legislative instrument made under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme of Last Resort Levy (Collection) Act 2023. It was 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 estimate for the 2026-27 levy period for four sub-sectors: credit intermediaries, credit providers, licensed personal advice and securities dealers. If your business falls within one of those sub-sectors, this instrument is part of the legal framework used for the levy process for that period.

This determination does not create a broad conduct regime. It performs a calculation function under subsection 9(1) of the Act. For each of the four sub-sectors, it states a determined estimate and then identifies the component amounts that make up that estimate.

For each sub-sector, the instrument specifies an amount for paragraph 9(1)(a) of the Act and an amount for paragraph 9(1)(b) of the Act. It then states that those amounts are reduced by the excess amounts referred to in the corresponding excess amount section for that sub-sector. The instrument therefore does more than list a headline figure. It also shows the structure used to reach that figure.

The instrument also includes an important note about the fourth levy period. It says no amounts have been included in relation to subparagraph 9(1)(b)(iv) of the Act because that subparagraph does not apply in relation to the fourth levy period. In the sub-sector sections, the paragraph 9(1)(b) breakdown instead includes amounts for subparagraphs 9(1)(b)(i), (ii), (iii) and (v), with the amount for subparagraph 9(1)(b)(v) shown as $0.00 in each case.

The instrument sets the following determined estimates for the 2026-27 levy period.

For the credit intermediaries sub-sector, the determined estimate is $2,155,918.33. The specified amount for paragraph 9(1)(a) of the Act is $1,001,028.25. The specified amount for paragraph 9(1)(b) is $1,728,134.45, comprising $260,640.61 for subparagraph 9(1)(b)(i), $1,242,493.84 for subparagraph 9(1)(b)(ii), $225,000.00 for subparagraph 9(1)(b)(iii), and $0.00 for subparagraph 9(1)(b)(v). The instrument then subtracts the excess amounts referred to in section 6.

For the credit providers sub-sector, the determined estimate is $2,003,430.97. The specified amount for paragraph 9(1)(a) is $401,341.45. The specified amount for paragraph 9(1)(b) is $1,739,116.27, comprising $270,802.55 for subparagraph 9(1)(b)(i), $1,243,313.72 for subparagraph 9(1)(b)(ii), $225,000.00 for subparagraph 9(1)(b)(iii), and $0.00 for subparagraph 9(1)(b)(v). The instrument then subtracts the excess amounts referred to in section 8.

For the licensed personal advice sub-sector, the determined estimate is $126,851,045.47. The specified amount for paragraph 9(1)(a) is $108,715,443.07. The specified amount for paragraph 9(1)(b) is $21,741,838.07, comprising $18,670,629.74 for subparagraph 9(1)(b)(i), $2,546,208.33 for subparagraph 9(1)(b)(ii), $525,000.00 for subparagraph 9(1)(b)(iii), and $0.00 for subparagraph 9(1)(b)(v). The instrument then subtracts the excess amounts referred to in section 10.

For the securities dealers sub-sector, the determined estimate is $6,484,092.08. The specified amount for paragraph 9(1)(a) is $4,337,716.58. The specified amount for paragraph 9(1)(b) is $2,228,745.21, comprising $801,781.88 for subparagraph 9(1)(b)(i), $1,201,963.33 for subparagraph 9(1)(b)(ii), $225,000.00 for subparagraph 9(1)(b)(iii), and $0.00 for subparagraph 9(1)(b)(v). The instrument then subtracts the excess amounts referred to in section 12.

The largest figure by a wide margin is the licensed personal advice sub-sector. That does not automatically tell an individual advice business what it will pay, but it is a clear sign that advice firms should treat 2026-27 levy planning as a material issue.

The instrument does not stop at listing the paragraph 9(1)(a) and 9(1)(b) amounts. It also identifies excess amounts that are subtracted when arriving at the determined estimate.

For the credit intermediaries sub-sector, the excess amount for an earlier levy period under paragraph 9(2)(a) of the Act is $573,244.37. The excess amount attributable to the sub-sector under paragraph 9(2)(c) is $0.00.

For the credit providers sub-sector, the excess amount for an earlier levy period is $137,026.75. The excess amount attributable to the sub-sector is $0.00.

For the licensed personal advice sub-sector, the excess amount for an earlier levy period is $3,606,235.67. The excess amount attributable to the sub-sector is $0.00.

For the securities dealers sub-sector, the excess amount for an earlier levy period is $82,369.71. The excess amount attributable to the sub-sector is $0.00.

This matters because a business reading only the paragraph 9(1)(a) and 9(1)(b) component amounts could miss the fact that the instrument expressly deducts excess amounts. If you are using this page for budgeting or board papers, make sure you refer to the determined estimate itself and not just the gross component amounts.

The instrument applies by reference to four sub-sectors, but it does not define the boundaries of those sub-sectors itself. Instead, it says that credit intermediaries sub-sector, credit providers sub-sector, licensed personal advice sub-sector and securities dealers sub-sector have the same meaning as in the Financial Services Compensation Scheme of Last Resort Levy Regulations 2023.

That means businesses should not rely on the title of the instrument, marketing labels, internal team names or broad industry descriptions when deciding whether they are covered. The legal question is whether the entity falls within the relevant regulatory definition adopted by the instrument.

Businesses that should check carefully include financial advice firms, securities dealing businesses, mortgage and credit businesses, fintech groups with mixed regulated activities, and corporate groups with several licensed entities. A group may have one entity in a credit sub-sector and another in a securities or advice sub-sector. The correct analysis is usually done at entity level, not by looking only at the group brand.

Businesses involved in acquisitions, disposals, restructures or licence changes before 1 July 2026 should also check their position carefully. If the regulated activity sits in a different entity after a restructure, that may affect which entity needs to consider the levy framework for the 2026-27 period.

The practical trigger points from this instrument are relatively clear. First, your entity must fall within one of the four named sub-sectors as defined by the regulations. Second, the relevant period is the 12 months starting from 1 July 2026. Third, the instrument commenced the day after registration, so affected businesses have advance notice of the estimates before the levy period begins.

The instrument itself does not set out all payment mechanics, notices or collection steps. Those sit in the broader statutory framework. But the text does support several practical obligations for businesses. You should identify whether your entity is in scope, record the determined estimate for the relevant sub-sector, understand that the estimate includes deductions for excess amounts, and review the Act and regulations before making operational decisions.

For finance teams, this is mainly a budgeting and provisioning issue. For compliance teams, it is a classification and framework issue. For directors and senior management, it is a governance issue because the sub-sector estimate may affect risk reporting, cash-flow planning and transaction diligence.

A common mistake is to treat a sub-sector estimate as if it were the exact amount a particular business will pay. This instrument does not support that shortcut. It sets the determined estimate for the sub-sector under the Act. It does not, by itself, explain every later step in assessment or collection.

Another common mistake is to focus only on the headline estimate without checking how it was built. This instrument is useful because it shows the paragraph 9(1)(a) amount, the paragraph 9(1)(b) amount and the excess amounts that are deducted. That structure can help businesses understand that the estimate is not just a single unexplained number.

For licensed personal advice businesses, the scale of the determined estimate means this issue is likely to be more prominent in budgeting and governance discussions. For credit intermediaries, credit providers and securities dealers, the estimates are lower but still large enough to justify planning. Smaller operators should not assume they are unaffected simply because they are not large institutions. The instrument is organised by sub-sector, not by business size.

If your business is preparing for a capital raise, sale, merger or restructure, include this levy framework in due diligence. Even where the exact entity-level amount is not shown in this instrument, the existence of the 2026-27 determined estimate for the relevant sub-sector may still be relevant to pricing, warranties, indemnities and completion planning.

The instrument is dated 21 November 2025 and was registered on 24 November 2025 as F2025L01421. Under the commencement clause, the whole instrument starts on the day after registration.

The key operational date for businesses is 1 July 2026, because that is the start of the 2026-27 levy period defined in the instrument. The instrument also notes that the 2026-27 levy period is the fourth levy period.

Public register metadata indicates a future repeal date of 1 April 2036 under section 50 of the Legislation Act 2003. That is a status point about the instrument on the register. It does not mean the 2026-27 levy period runs until 2036.

This page is general information. It is most useful as a practical guide to what this determination sets and how to read it. Businesses should still check the Act and regulations before making operational or transaction decisions based on the levy framework.