The end of the 2017 – 2018 financial year brings in the first application of the new industry funding model for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Industry funding for ASIC originally came into effect on 1 July 2017 and, as the name suggests, ASIC now largely relies on the industry to fund its regulatory costs. The logic of this change is to ensure that those entities who create a need for ASIC are the same entities who are paying for its costs.
What are the changes to ASIC funding?
Our previous article describing the changes can be found here.
In short, the new funding model divides ASIC regulated entities into 6 sectors and 48 subsectors. ASIC's regulatory costs for each financial year are then appropriately allocated among these subsectors. Regulated entities will be imposed with either a 'flat levy' or a 'graduated levy' depending on their subsector.
ASIC's indicative levies for each subsector during the 2017 – 2018 financial year can be found here, however the actual regulatory costs are expected to be published in November.
What steps does my business now need to take?
All regulated entities will have received a letter from ASIC outlining the changes and the steps that the entity must take to comply with the new laws. Specifically, regulated entities must use the registration details outlined in the letter to log in to the ASIC Portal and a company director or secretary must then:
- register for a user account
- provide details of the entity's industry funding contact details
- submit the entity's 'business activity metrics' for the 2017-2018 financial year.
This must be done before 27 September 2018.
For a summary of the 'business activity metrics' that a regulated entity may be required to provide, please see ASIC's checklist, which can be found here.
Once a regulated entity has registered on the ASIC Portal, the director or secretary can then appoint a 'trusted representative' for the company. This replaces the previous role of 'registered agent' and, consequently, any existing registered agents cannot act for the regulated entity until they have been appropriately appointed as a 'trusted representative' through the ASIC Portal.
Holding Redlich's corporate and commercial professionals can assist businesses with this registration process, and are able to perform regulatory tasks as a trusted representative for your business.
This publication does not deal with every important topic or change in law and is not intended to be relied upon as a substitute for legal or other advice that may be relevant to the reader's specific circumstances. If you have found this publication of interest and would like to know more or wish to obtain legal advice relevant to your circumstances please contact one of the named individuals listed.