Legislation

It was assumed by industry that a glaring gaffe in the government’s draft legislation, which forces super funds to assess every piece of advice before deducting advice fees, would be amended in the final bill.

There are several bones of contention that the FAAA, and the industry more broadly, has with the compensation scheme’s settings, despite supporting it in principle. At the heart of it is the government’s repeated willingness to foist retrospective punishment on the good for the sins of the bad.

Advisers should treat Choice super performance as a “primary consideration,” the commissioner stated, while licensees should have “rigorous processes” for underperformance as part of their APL program.

Both illegal early access and SMSF suitability are known concerns of the regulator, but Sciacca noted that the driver of this review is ASIC’s desire to audit the efficacy of its earlier guidance on SMSF advice. 

Bringing super funds and other institutions into the advice ecosystem should benefit consumers by creating an organic path for them to follow as their needs become more complex. More would benefit if the review also took into account the SMSF capabilities of accountants, stakeholders believe.

The collation of issues is an important marker for how many areas of advice legislation still need improvement for the industry to thrive, with fairness at the heart of all the proposals put forward by the association.

The moves made by Complii across 2023 should position the firm well for a rebound in advice industry numbers, which is entirely foreseeable given the proposals stemming from the government’s Quality of Advice review.

The concept of a ‘qualified adviser’ with less qualifications provoked an industry backlash. While the government has signalled it is open to discussion, the problem remains – how to open up advice to more consumers at a viable cost?

Markets may have outperformed in 2023 after a dour 2022, but it wasn’t enough to lift confidence in retirement as cost of living pressures continued to cloud the financial future of many Australians.

As advisers trickle back into the office after summer holidays, many will be confronted with the an urgent regulatory requirement that, if ignored, could see them unable to legally provide advice.

While technology’s role in compliance is becoming more prominent, advisers and brokers are still looking for clarity on what vehicles will carry that technology.

Cowell Clarke lawyer Richard Hopkin said there are reasonable grounds for licensees to certify clients as wholesale, but the practice invites a much higher degree of risk than the traditional route of gaining an accountants’ certificate.