Licensing fees and levies
In October 2019 and December 2020 regulations were made that set the licensing fees and levies that will apply in the new financial advice regime.
On this page
The Financial Markets Conduct (Fees) Amendment Regulations (No 2) 2019 give effect to Cabinet’s decisions on 17 June 2019.
You can view the fees in the below tables.
Transitional licensing fees
| Application fees | Fee (ex GST) | Fee (incl GST) |
|---|---|---|
| Financial advice provider application fee | $405.00 | $465.75 |
| Additional fee for any authorised body named in an application | $38.75 | $44.56 |
Full licensing fees
| Application fees | Fee (ex GST) | Fee (incl GST) | Threshold for charging the hourly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 – sole adviser businesses or financial advice providers that only give advice on their own account | $612.00 | $703.80 | 2 hours |
| Tier 2 – financial advice providers that engage multiple financial advisers but no nominated representatives | $767.00 | $882.05 | 3 hours |
| Tier 3 – financial advice providers that engage one or more nominated representatives | $922.00 | $1,060.30 | 4 hours |
| Additional fee for any authorised body named in an application | $155.00 | $178.25 | N/A |
FMA levy
The levies for the new financial advice regime have now been set, and were approved by Cabinet on 27 July 2020. These levies will come into effect on 15 March 2021, alongside the commencement of the financial advice regime. A summary of the levies that will apply to the financial advice industry is provided in the table below. The levy amounts below are exclusive of GST.
| 2020/21 (15 March - 30 June) |
2021/22 | 2022/23 and outyears | |
| Authorised bodies | $660 | $760 | $880 |
| Financial adviser | $300 | $340 | $400 |
| Financial advice provider, plus additional levies payable where: | $260 | $280 | $340 |
|
$220 | $240 | $300 |
|
$880 | $980 | $1,180 |
See the Financial Markets Authority (Levies) Amendment Regulations (No 2) 2020(external link) — New Zealand Legislation website
Read more about the funding of the FMA and the confirmation of new levies
Relief for sole-adviser firms
Financial service providers will generally be required to pay a levy of $480 (excluding GST) when initially registering on the Financial Service Providers Register (FSPR). The Financial Markets Authority (Levies) Amendment Regulations include relief from this levy for businesses that have been relying on the sole-adviser exemption but are now required to register in the new regime.
This relief will apply for those registering their business from 25 November 2019 to 14 June 2021.
-
Regulations to support Financial Services Legislation Amendment Act 2019 Paper 1: financial advice licensing fees and FMA levy [PDF 193KB]
-
Regulations to support Financial Services Legislation Amendment Act 2019 Paper 1: financial advice licensing fees and FMA levy - Minute of Decision [PDF 190KB]
-
Financial advice: licensing fees and the FMA levy Cost recovery impact statement [PDF 633KB]