EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by authority of the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services
Corporations (Fees) Act 2001
Corporations (Fees) Amendment (Exam Fees) Regulations 2022
Section 8 of the Corporations (Fees) Act 2001 (the Act) provides that the Governor‑General may make Regulations for the purposes of sections 5, 5A, 6 and 7 of the Act.
Section 5 of the Act provides that the regulations may prescribe fees for chargeable matters. Section 6 provides that the regulations may prescribe a fee by specifying an amount as the fee, or by specifying a method for calculating the amount of the fee.
The purpose of these Regulations is to increase the prescribed fee for the financial adviser exam from $973 to $1,500, to reflect changes in the cost to administer the exam.
Under the Australian Government Charging Framework, charges should generally be to recover the full cost of providing specific activities. However, consistent with the Government’s announcement of this measure in the October 2022-23 Budget, the cost of delivering the exam is only being partially cost recovered.
The measure is a small administrative change to Regulations with no need for public consultation.
The Regulations commence from the day after they are registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.
Details of the Regulations are set out in Attachment A.
The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.
Regulation Impact Statement
The Office of Impact Analysis assessed the Regulations as having no regulatory impact on businesses, community organisations and individuals (OBPR Reference: OBPR22-03153). This means a Regulation Impact Statement was not required.
A statement of Compatibility with Human Rights is at Attachment B.
ATTACHMENT A
Details of the Corporations (Fees) Amendment (Exam Fees) Regulations 2022
Section 1 – Name of the Regulations
This section provides that the name of the Regulations is the Corporations (Fees) Amendment (Exam Fees) Regulations 2002 (the Regulations).
Section 2 – Commencement
Schedule 1 to the Regulations commences the day after the instrument is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.
Section 3 – Authority
The Regulations are made under the Corporations (Fees) Act 2001 (the Act).
Section 4 – Schedule
This section provides that each instrument that is specified in the Schedule to this instrument will be amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedules, and any other item in the Schedules to this instrument has effect according to its terms.
Schedule 1 – Amendments
Item 1 - Clause 1 of Schedule 1 (table item 8A, column 2)
The prescribed amount payable on application to sit the financial adviser exam under subsection 921B(3) of the Corporations Act 2001 is altered from $973 to $1,500.
ATTACHMENT B
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Insert Title of Regulation
This Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Overview of the Legislative Instrument
The legislative instrument increases the prescribed fee for the financial adviser exam from $973 to $1,500.
Human rights implications
This Legislative Instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.
Conclusion
This Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.
Overview
The Corporations (Fees) Amendment (Exam Fees) Regulations 2022 were enacted to amend the Corporations (Fees) Act 2001 by increasing the fee for the financial adviser exam from $973 to $1,500. This change aims to partially recover the costs associated with administering the exam, reflecting the rising expenses involved. The regulations were introduced by the Australian Government and made under the authority granted by Section 8 of the Corporations (Fees) Act 2001, which allows the Governor-General to create regulations prescribing fees for chargeable matters. The decision to implement this measure was announced in the October 2022-23 Budget. These regulations do not require public consultation and will take effect from the day after they are registered on the Federal Register of Legislation. The Office of Impact Analysis determined that the regulations have no regulatory impact on businesses, community organisations, or individuals, thus a Regulation Impact Statement was not necessary. Additionally, a statement of compatibility with human rights confirms that these amendments do not engage any applicable rights or freedoms, ensuring the regulations are consistent with human rights obligations.
Scope and Application
The Corporations (Fees) Amendment (Exam Fees) Regulations 2022 applies to the prescribed fees for the financial adviser exam, as stipulated under the Corporations (Fees) Act 2001. The Act enables the Governor-General to make regulations that prescribe fees for chargeable matters, and these regulations impact the fees payable by applicants sitting the financial adviser exam. The geographic and jurisdictional reach of the Act is national, as it is a Commonwealth regulation. The Act does not provide specific exclusions or exemptions but specifies that the fee increase is to partially recover the cost of delivering the exam. The application of the Act extends through subordinate instruments, where the regulations amend the prescribed fee amount from $973 to $1,500, reflecting updated administrative costs. This amendment was made under the Australian Government Charging Framework, which aims to recover full costs of specific activities, although in this instance, only partial cost recovery is applied.
Key Provisions
The Corporations (Fees) Amendment (Exam Fees) Regulations 2022 (the Regulations) primarily amend the prescribed fee for the financial adviser exam under the Corporations (Fees) Act 2001 (the Act). Specifically, section 1 of Schedule 1 to the Regulations alters the fee from $973 to $1,500 (Schedule 1, Item 1). This change is intended to reflect the increased costs associated with administering the exam. The Regulations are made under the authority of section 8 of the Act (Section 3) and commence the day after they are registered on the Federal Register of Legislation (Section 2).
The Regulations impose an obligation on applicants to pay the new fee when applying to sit the financial adviser exam. This change is administrative and does not require consultation with stakeholders, as it is considered a minor adjustment to the fee structure. The Act already provides a framework for prescribing fees for various chargeable matters, and these Regulations simply implement the necessary changes to reflect current costs (Section 5, Section 6). The Regulations also include a compatibility statement with human rights, confirming that the changes do not engage any rights or freedoms under the applicable international instruments (Attachment B).
The Regulations do not outline specific offences or penalties for non-compliance with the fee requirements, as the fee is a matter of administrative adjustment rather than a regulatory requirement that carries enforcement consequences. However, any failure to pay the prescribed fee would likely result in the application being rejected, preventing the applicant from sitting the exam. The Act itself may have other provisions for non-compliance, but these are not detailed in the explanatory statement provided.
In summary, the key provision of the Regulations is the adjustment of the financial adviser exam fee from $973 to $1,500 to reflect administrative costs. The Regulations impose an obligation on applicants to pay this new fee. There are no specified offences or penalties for non-compliance within the explanatory statement, but non-payment would likely result in the rejection of the application. The Regulations have been assessed to have no regulatory impact and are compatible with human rights as per the statement provided.