Australia's retail over-the-counter derivatives issuers will pay A$128,388 in annual regulatory levies for the 2025-26 financial year, a 23% reduction from the A$166,679 charged in 2024-25, according to estimates published by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The lower levy reflects decreased enforcement spending as several regulatory matters approach completion, ASIC stated. The reduction comes despite ASIC's overall industry-funded budget rising nearly 19% to A$400.52 million, driven by increased government funding for regulatory work across other sectors.
ASIC Reduces CFD Issuer Levy by 23% for 2025-26
ASIC expects to recover A$9.324 million from the retail OTC derivatives subsector in 2025-26, down A$2.781 million from the A$12.105 million recovered in 2024-25. The regulator calculated the estimate using 75 entities holding the relevant Australian Financial Services licence authorisation. The subsector covers most Australian-licensed retail CFD and margin forex issuers.
Retail OTC derivatives issuers pay a flat levy amount based on the number of days during the financial year they hold their AFS licence authorisation. The lower bill reflects a decline in ASIC's expected regulatory costs rather than a change in the levy formula.
Enforcement Cost Decline Drives Levy Reduction
ASIC attributed the levy decrease primarily to lower enforcement spending. "The main driver for the material variance is that the estimated enforcement costs are lower than prior years," the regulator said. Several enforcement matters are approaching their closing stages, while expected investigation and court-action costs for new and continuing cases affecting the subsector are lower.
Enforcement remains the largest cost component for retail OTC derivatives regulation. ASIC allocated A$4.058 million to enforcement in the subsector for 2025-26, compared with A$1.55 million for supervision and surveillance. Additional costs include A$575,000 for industry engagement, A$141,000 for education, A$164,000 for guidance and A$75,000 for policy advice. Indirect expenses comprise A$1.168 million for digital, data and technology, A$529,000 for enabling services and A$531,000 for property and accommodation.
Total operating expenditure attributed to retail OTC derivatives issuers is estimated at A$9.126 million. After adding capital expenditure and a A$157,000 prior-year adjustment, ASIC arrived at the A$9.324 million levy recovery amount.
ASIC Returned A$40 Million Through Recent CFD Supervision
Between October 2024 and December 2025, ASIC reviewed 52 licensed CFD issuers and identified weaknesses in compliance with design and distribution obligations, the regulator's CFD product intervention order and derivatives reporting rules. The review resulted in almost A$40 million being returned to more than 38,000 retail investors.
ASIC said 39 issuers revised their target market determinations, 44 improved client onboarding questionnaires and 42 strengthened systems used to monitor customer trading behaviour and outcomes. The regulator also identified more than 70 million erroneous OTC derivative transaction reports, prompting 48 issuers to make changes to their reporting systems.
Trive Financial Services Australia agreed to stop onboarding new Australian clients in April 2025 after ASIC identified serious deficiencies in some of its processes. ASIC later cancelled Trive's AFS licence after the company ceased carrying on a financial services business in Australia. In December 2025, ASIC issued an interim stop order against Stratos Trading, which operates the FXCM brand in Australia, over deficiencies in its target market determination. The order was revoked after the company amended the document.
ASIC Total Budget Increases 18.6% Despite CFD Levy Drop
ASIC expects to recover A$400.52 million through industry funding levies in 2025-26, an increase of A$62.95 million, or 18.6%, from the A$337.57 million recovered in 2024-25. ASIC said the increase was driven by the timing of expenditure and additional government funding supporting regulatory, supervisory and enforcement work.
The largest allocation is A$107.254 million for the corporate sector, followed by A$74.469 million for investment management, superannuation and related services. The market infrastructure and intermediaries sector, which includes retail OTC derivatives issuers, is expected to contribute A$68.627 million, only 1.9% more than in the previous year. Financial advice costs are expected to rise 34.5% to A$62.624 million, while insurance costs are forecast to increase 35.4% to A$23.838 million.
ASIC's industry funding system requires regulated entities to cover the cost of supervision, surveillance, enforcement and other regulatory activity. The model operates on an ex-post basis, meaning final levies are calculated using ASIC's actual spending after the end of the financial year. The figures published are estimates rather than final invoices. ASIC plans to publish the actual levies in December 2026 and issue invoices between January and March 2027, with payments due in April 2027.
FAQ
Why did ASIC reduce the CFD issuer levy for 2025-26?
ASIC reduced the levy from A$166,679 to A$128,388 because enforcement costs are lower than in prior years. Several enforcement matters are approaching their closing stages, and expected investigation and court-action costs for new and continuing cases affecting the subsector are lower.
What did ASIC's recent CFD supervision achieve?
Between October 2024 and December 2025, ASIC reviewed 52 licensed CFD issuers and identified compliance weaknesses. The review resulted in almost A$40 million being returned to more than 38,000 retail investors. ASIC said 39 issuers revised their target market determinations, 44 improved client onboarding questionnaires and 42 strengthened monitoring systems.
When will CFD issuers receive their final levy invoices?
ASIC plans to publish the actual levies in December 2026 and issue invoices between January and March 2027, with payments due in April 2027. The A$128,388 figure is an estimate based on projected spending for the 2025-26 financial year.
