Federal budget 2020: ASIC to miss out in $800m bonanza

ASIC missed out on a funding bonanza for regulators who have been given additional firepower to monitor the post-COVID-19 economy.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg releases the Federal Budget at Parliament House on Tuesday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission missed out on an $800m funding bonanza for regulators who have been given additional firepower to monitor the post-COVID-19 economy.

Over the four years from 2020-21 the government will provide $801.3m in additional funding to bank regulator Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, the Australian Taxation Office and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission.

The ATO is set to receive $305.9m for the “effective delivery” of the next phase of JobKeeper as well as the JobMaker hiring credit.

Its also set to receive $15.1m to target “serious and organised crime” within the tax and superannuation system. But the government says it will return $136.8m due to a higher tax take.

A quarter of a million will be provided to the ATO to implement a more efficient foreign investment review application review system.

The ACCC will receive $116.5m, including capital funding of $32.9m, “to better protect consumers and small business” and a small amount to regulate “costs and profits in the domestic air passenger sector” in the aftermath of Virgin entering liquidation, reducing national flight capacity.

Just over $6m will be handed over to help the ACCC advance the Consumer Data Right regime and just under half a million will be used to conduct an inquiry into the imbalances of bargaining power between farmers and retailers in the perishable agricultural goods market.

APRA will receive an extra $28.8m to boost its capacity to respond to “risks within the financial system”, with “costs to be recovered from industry” through penalties.

The ASIC will receive a confidential amount for data storage, with the exact figure protected by commercial-in-confidence sensibilities, but is also being hit by a $7.1m charge through the transfer of policy responsibility for national financial capability co-ordination to the Department of the Treasury.

A small amount will also be provided to support small business responsible lending under the JobMaker plan.

Anti-money laundering reg­u­lator Austrac also emerges as a major winner in the wake of the $1.3bn settlement with Westpac over the money transfer scandal, receiving a $104.9m handout for a “capability uplift”.

The government said the money would help “strengthen its capacity to combat serious financial crime” and “protect Australia’s financial system from criminal activities” whole supporting the development of a financial data reporting system.

The cost of this measure would be offset over 10 years through the increase in an industry contribution levy, the government said.

The Australian Office of Financial Management will receive $10.5m over four years to help administer a $15bn fund for the SME loans program.