The advice profession has made it no secret that it is upset about a number of government measures, with the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR) levy and the changes to section 99FA of the SIS Act that form part of the first Delivering Better Financial Outcomes (DBFO) bill at the top of the list.
Earlier in June, advisers began collectively forwarding identical letters to their local MPs and senators, cautioning against the government’s mismanagement of advice legislation and regulation.
Now, a petition is circulating to deliver a unified voice against the impact that these measures will have on the profession.
“The financial advice profession is crucial for helping Australians make complex financial decisions. The current form of the CSLR levy and the Treasury Laws Amendment Bill threatens the accessibility of quality advice,” the petition said.
The petition, which was put together by a number of large licensees, is putting the focus largely on the increased costs to advisers, which will flow through to clients.
“Should trustees be compelled to scrutinise every single advice document as per the proposed changes, the additional cost burden – estimated at about $400 per member request – will siphon away hundreds of millions of dollars from Australians’ retirement savings annually,” it said.
“We call on the Parliament to amend the bill to fix s99FA, which adds nothing but confusion, uncertainty, and cost increases for consumers.”
Similarly, on the CSLR, it noted that advisers are being forced to pay for the “misdeeds of a large, failed corporation like Dixon Advisory”, which it added is “unjust and economically unsustainable”.
“The parent company of Dixon Advisory, Evans and Partners, earned over $174 million in revenue last financial year. Yet, new, trusted, and professional advisers are being asked to foot the bill for this corporate failure,” it said.
Speaking with ifa, Keith Cullen, managing director of WT Financial, which is among the licensees driving the initiative, said the profession needs to get organised in and involved in the debate.
“If it ever hopes to achieve anything at a political level, it’s not enough to leave it to your associations to leave it to your parent companies and so on,” Cullen said.
“People need to express their opinions to their local members, to their state senators, so that they understand actually what’s happening.
“You can’t expect your local member to be across every single piece of legislation that’s coming before them, you can only expect them to be across what people are communicating to them in their local electorate.
“It’s imperative that the profession gets off its bum and does something to participate in the political process. Regardless of what the matter was, advisers need to have a voice, the profession needs to have a voice, and it needs to be a voice that’s shown to be coordinated, because otherwise, who’s going to listen to it?”
He stressed, however, that the petition doesn’t mean advisers are against all of the reform measures underway and that the petition should not be seen as “anti-government”.
“We are all supportive of this bill and what it tries to achieve,” Cullen said.
“What people want to see is they want to be able to give the certainty that everybody needs and people would like the government to actually listen to people that are in the profession, and in the financial advice industry, who need to live with these changes, who need to implement these changes.
“All we are seeking is some reasonable amendments.”
At the time of publication, the petition had received more than 850 signatures. It can be found here.
If this isn’t a sign to leave the advice industry, I don’t know what is
Now @ 1340 signatures…
It requires a bit more than signing a petition.
While the initiative is admirable and doing something is better than nothing it reflects poorly on the intelligence of advisers. It should be patently obvious that advisers opinions count for nothing.
I doubt the government or regulators will even notice. If they did they would probably start laughing unless 12,000 advisers sign it. Based on past efforts that won’t happen and that’s the problem. 12,000 advisers should sign it.
There is no point trying to talk or negotiate. Proposed solution:
1. All advisers contribute $200 toward a mainstream media advertising campaign ($1 million raised)
2. The first round of adds promotes the benefits of financial advice
3. The second round of adds promotes the virtues of the qualified adviser
4. The third round shines the light on who actually controls your super.
I actually think advisers would prefer to put $200 each to something which is loud and clear, rather than go a petition route. We need to make the noise outside of the ‘Canberra bubble’, and not always within it.
Great initiative. If you don’t make noise you won’t get heard. Worked for the mortgage brokers post Hayne and would advise to share this far and wide to wake Canberra up.
Why isn’t the FAAA putting out more to the general public about this ?
The general public is getting screwed and don’t even know it !
We need to start calling talk back radio about this. Whilst we’re at it, we can also raise the issue of lawyers charging $30,000 for TPD claims.
I wonder if super funds check the bona fides & advice provided by doctors, surgeons & lawyers for TPD claims & whether the advice represents value? I wonder if there is a legal requirement to do so?
“If it ever hopes to achieve anything at a political level, it’s not enough to leave it to your associations to leave it to your parent companies and so on,” Cullen said. It should be. What am I paying subs for?
I agree, what positives have our associations achieved in the last 20 years ?
FAAAAAA = ?
SMSFA = ?
AIOFP = Experienced Pathway, not that it helps any of our 4 advisers and I think it may have been a bait to allow Jones to push for Unqualified, uneducated Backpackers as Qualified Advisers.
AIOFP = Vote Labor how has that worked out?
It’s the associations’ job to go public on this. Public pressure is the way you bring politicians to heel.
That’s exactly why I cancelled my FAAA membership.
I am ignoring my renewal as well…the FAAA isn’t performing. Fees for no service personified!
FAAA membership numbers will plummet after the renewal process. No value in a minimum $595 membership whatsoever
Any other memberships we need to have if we ignore the faaa ? Or just hold no membership ?