National Consumer Credit Protection (Fees) Amendment (ASIC Fees) Act 2018

The National Consumer Credit Protection (Fees) Amendment (ASIC Fees) Act 2018 is an amending Act. Its job is not to create the whole fee regime from scratch, but to change the existing National Consumer Credit Protection (Fees) Act 2009.

The key amendment is the insertion of section 8A into the 2009 fees Act. That new provision says that, without limiting sections 5 and 6, the regulations may prescribe, in relation to a chargeable matter, different fees having regard to any matter relating to the person by whom the fee for the matter is payable.

In practical terms, this means the law now expressly allows regulations to set different ASIC fees for the same kind of chargeable matter depending on features connected to the person who must pay. The amendment also updates section 10 so it refers to section 8A as part of the regulation-making framework.

This is a targeted change. It is about ASIC fees under the National Consumer Credit Protection fees legislation only. It is not a general power applying across all ASIC fees or all Commonwealth regulatory schemes.

The people and businesses in scope are those who are liable to pay a fee for a chargeable matter under the National Consumer Credit Protection (Fees) Act 2009. If your business operates in the consumer credit regulatory system and deals with ASIC fee-paying events under that legislation, this amendment is relevant to you.

That will commonly include businesses applying for or holding authorisations or dealing with other fee-triggering matters under the consumer credit framework, to the extent those matters are chargeable under the fees Act and regulations. It can also extend to individuals or entities other than companies if they are the person liable to pay the relevant fee.

Businesses outside the National Consumer Credit Protection fees regime are usually out of scope. For example, if your business does not deal with ASIC fees under that specific credit fees legislation, this amendment does not directly change your position. The Act is confined to the National Consumer Credit Protection (Fees) Act 2009 and related regulations.

The amendment matters when there is a chargeable matter and a fee is payable by a particular person. The legislation extract does not list every chargeable matter, so businesses should not treat this page as a complete fee schedule. Instead, the practical trigger is any step under the National Consumer Credit Protection fees regime where ASIC fees are payable.

Once a matter is chargeable, the regulations may prescribe different fees by reference to matters relating to the person liable to pay. That means the correct fee may depend not only on the type of matter, but also on who the payer is and how the regulations classify that payer.

Because the amending Act itself does not spell out the fee categories or amounts, the main business trigger is the need to verify the current regulations and ASIC fee information each time a fee-paying event arises. A business should not assume that a fee applying to one operator will necessarily apply to another operator in the same way.

This amendment does not create a long list of direct operational duties in its own text. Its practical effect is to change how businesses should approach ASIC fee compliance under the consumer credit fees regime.

First, businesses need to recognise that the amending Act is an enabling law. The actual fee outcome depends on regulations. So the core compliance step is to check the current subordinate legislation and ASIC materials before paying a fee.

Second, businesses should make sure they have correctly identified the person liable to pay the fee. The amendment is framed around matters relating to that person. If the wrong payer is assumed, the wrong fee may be selected.

Third, businesses should keep their internal compliance processes current. If your team uses standard fee checklists, application packs or budgeting assumptions for credit-related ASIC dealings, those materials should be reviewed against the current regulations.

Fourth, businesses should keep records that support the fee position they have taken. The amendment itself does not prescribe a record-keeping rule, but as a practical matter it is sensible to retain the regulation or ASIC fee reference used, the date checked, and the basis on which the payer was identified.

Finally, businesses should avoid over-reading the amendment. The Act allows regulations to prescribe different fees having regard to matters relating to the payer, but the amendment itself does not say that any particular factor will always be used. The actual criteria depend on the regulations in force.

It is important to read this Act carefully and not attribute more to it than it actually does.

The Act does not itself set a table of fees. It does not state that fees must vary by business size, risk, turnover, transaction volume or compliance history. It simply permits regulations to prescribe different fees having regard to any matter relating to the person liable to pay the fee.

That distinction matters. A business cannot work out the payable amount from the amending Act alone. Nor should a business assume that a particular characteristic, such as being a startup or a larger operator, will automatically change the fee. The answer depends on the regulations made under the fees Act and the current ASIC fee settings.

The Act also does not expand the fee regime beyond the National Consumer Credit Protection (Fees) Act 2009. Its scope is limited to that legislative framework.

The Act is in force. It is Act No. 56 of 2018 and was assented to on 28 June 2018. Under the commencement provision, the whole Act commenced on the day after Royal Assent, which was 29 June 2018.

The practical significance of that date is that, from commencement, the fees legislation could operate with the added flexibility introduced by section 8A, subject to the regulations. For current fee questions, however, businesses should always check the latest version of the legislation and any current regulations and ASIC fee publications.

Because this Act is only one part of the fee framework, businesses should do a few checks before relying on a summary like this one.

Start with the current text of the National Consumer Credit Protection (Fees) Act 2009, including section 8A. Then check the regulations made under that Act to see whether your matter is chargeable and whether different fees are prescribed by reference to the person liable to pay. After that, confirm the current ASIC fee information for the relevant transaction or filing.

If your business is preparing an application, renewal, lodgment or other fee-paying step, make sure the person liable to pay has been correctly identified and that your internal budget reflects the current fee position. This is especially important if your team is using older precedents or fee assumptions.

This page is based on the Federal Register of Legislation version of the National Consumer Credit Protection (Fees) Amendment (ASIC Fees) Act 2018. The operative amendment in the extract inserts section 8A into the National Consumer Credit Protection (Fees) Act 2009 and makes a related amendment to section 10.

Because the amending Act is brief, the safest way to use it is as a signpost to the broader fees framework rather than as a standalone fee guide. Businesses should check the current regulations and ASIC fee information for the actual fee outcome.