“The CSLR has become a disaster under Labor – with the levy already forecast to exceed $120 million in 2027 before accounting for compensation to the 12,000 Australians with $1.2 billion at risk from the First Guardian and Shield collapses. Had ASIC acted on warnings sooner, victims could have been spare,” O’Brien said.

“Under Jim Chalmers, Australia’s financial regulators are slipping. Misconduct is rising, consumer losses are growing, and confidence in the system is weakening. Instead of strengthening oversight, the Treasurer is actively weakening it.”

O’Brien added that the government is also trying to water down the Financial Regulator Assessment Authority (FRAA) — a key Banking Royal Commission reform implemented by the Coalition to ensure APRA and ASIC are properly scrutinised.

“Under Labor’s changes, FRAA would only be required to review the regulators once every five years as opposed to at least every two years as was originally recommended by the Royal Commission. Five years between checks is not accountability — it’s a holiday,” he said.

“A watering down of accountability after the Banking Royal Commission is a slap in the face for the more than 12,000 Australians caught up in First Guardian and Shield. They deserve a government that holds the regulator to account for their failings.”

Furthermore, the shadow treasurer said the criticism from the ACTU should be a “wake-up call” for the treasurer.

“When even the union movement is calling out failures at ASIC and APRA under his watch, something is seriously wrong,” he said.

“This is the same treasurer who has not bothered to update ASIC’s Statement of Expectations since coming to office — a basic tool every government uses to hold the regulator to account. After more than three years in the job, Jim Chalmers still hasn’t told ASIC what he expects of them.”