ASIC 'delighted' with funding boost

Australia's corporate watchdog says it's "delighted" with a $126 million cash injection and moves to shift its funding to a user-pays model.

Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) chairman Greg Medcraft says he's long lobbied for banks to fund the regulator and insists the extra money will help his staff crack down on bad behaviour.

"I want Australians to have confidence, I want them to know there's a tough cop on the beat," Mr Medcraft told reporters in Sydney.

"We've done a lot and now we will do more, because we've got more money and we've got more powers."

From 2017/18, ASIC will be entirely funded by the financial industry, instead of taxpayers.

The regulator will also be funnelled more money for increased surveillance and enforcement of financial advice, life insurance and lending.

Mr Medcraft said the government on Wednesday delivered exactly what ASIC had been asking for.

He said the funding boost would help ASIC adopt a more proactive approach to prevent misbehaviour.

"The key to law enforcement is that most people should expect a visit from the law enforcement agency at some point, or at least should be worried about it," Mr Medcraft said.

"Good law enforcement is actually about having cops on the beat (so) that people actually don't even think about breaking the law - that's what we want, that's very much what we want."

Mr Medcraft said he hoped the regulator's new "beefed up" powers help drive cultural change inside banks.

"I think I've said we can do this the easy way or the hard way, and I've also said that the banks need to look at the court of public opinion," he said.

"We do every day our best to make sure Australians have got trust and confidence, and equally I think the banks want consumers to have that trust and confidence."