ASIC Cost - Please Explain?
Just completed the first stage of an ASIC renewal. $256 and some cents on the end for a 2 year validity period. That's nearly $11 a month.
That is before the cost of getting the photos done and the time required in attending the now ridiculous requirement to have an interview with a 'qualified agent' who presumably only works during Monday to Friday business hours, so I have to organise time off work.
For comparison, a 10 year NSW driver's licence is $334 or $167 with the 50% discount under the 'Fair Go For Safe Drivers' scheme. That works out to under $2.78 a month or $1.39 with the discount.
Perhaps a more relevant comparison would be an Australian passport, where the renewal cost is $282 for 10 years, a cost of $2.35 a month.
This might seem like penny pinching - and it isn't, thankfully I can afford it - but why is the cost of getting an ASIC so much higher than a driver's licence or a passport? Arguably the tech involved in making a passport costs a lot more, given that the ASIC is just a !!!!ty plastic red card.
Also, why is it that the cost through Aviation ID (the one CASA recommends) more expensive than other third parties that I found through Google after doing a bit of research - e.g. one says their fee is $223. Are these third parties legit or a scam?