The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) hopes a forthcoming review of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) will focus on the regulator’s responsiveness to emerging issues and the way it prioritises resources.

The Federal Government announced the review last week, acting on a recommendation of the Financial System Inquiry.

Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the Government is considering a recommendation for industry to fund ASIC’s activities, and this requires a review of the commission’s capabilities.

ICA spokesman Campbell Fuller told insuranceNEWS.com.au the general insurance industry has a good working relationship with ASIC but supports the review, particularly if the regulator is to become funded by the industries it regulates.

He says three of the review’s terms of reference are particularly relevant to insurers. These are identification and analysis of immediate and projected priorities or risks; how resources are prioritised and responsiveness to emerging issues; and allocation of current resources across the groups regulated by ASIC.

The review panel will report to the Government by the end of this year. Its members are Productivity Commissioner Karen Chester, former CEO of the Queensland Treasury, Queensland Competition Authority and Queensland Commission of Audit Mark Gray, and lawyer David Galbally.