Insurers and other financial institutions have been given some breathing space on Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) levy rates, with cuts across the board being announced by the Federal Government.

The amount collected by APRA in 2007/08 is set to fall by about $10 million over the previous year as insurers, banks, superannuation funds and other authorised deposit-taking institutions contribute less to the cost of running the regulator.

Assistant Treasurer Peter Dutton says that after granting transitional levy arrangement for superannuation entities, the Federal Government is implementing a broader levies framework.

“The lower levies will be complemented by a draw-down on reserves from previous periods. This will allow APRA to respond effectively to the increase in workload volumes and the complexity of the financial market.”