Launched late last year, ASIC announced the unit in an effort to minimise regulatory burden on financial services, including the advice sector.
Speaking at the AICD Governance Summit on Thursday, 3 March, chair Joe Longo said the team, which reports directly to him, is focused on the regulator’s work from a “functional perspective” and aims to remove “unnecessary frictions” in its interactions with the industry and to drive better compliance.
“While work of this nature was already underway within ASIC, the unit will coordinate this work, as well as complementing it with other initiatives,” Mr Longo said.
“The team has so far met with more than 70 external stakeholders, and is working on identifying a range of initiatives that will improve the efficiency of our interactions with our regulated population.”
Last month, the executive director of the Association of Independently Owned Financial Professionals (AIOFP), Peter Johnston, proposed the creation of a panel of experienced advisers and ASIC to tackle compliance which he said could be achieved through “fair and reasonable adjustments”.
“Politicians and ASIC need to understand that the advice community wants the ‘bad eggs’ removed more than anyone else and we will not protect them,” Mr Johnston said in a recent email.
“It is fruitless having a panel of academics who have not worked in our industry making critical decisions that [impact] on the practically of the industry and therefore the cost of advice to consumers.”
There you go – focussing on “improving clompliance” – not focussing on “reducing red tape”.
They just have no idea.
I wonder if this will be like their 2019 report (REP632), where ASIC research showed disclosure documents are not very good in terms of protecting clients. Their response was to bring in more disclosure documents (ieTMDs).
It is clear they just don’t get it.
Exactly, it is clear ASIC, AFCA & Pollies only know one process = More & more & more BS over regulation & compliance at every turn.
Who are the “70 external stakeholders” Joe ??
Any advisers included within this cohort ?
….or don’t you trust advisers to be able to clearly and succinctly demonstrate an innate and detailed understanding of how things really should be?
Probably all from Choice and other consumer groups who know nothing about the ridiculous levels of red-tape imposed by the Liberal government.
In the meantime they’ll just remove as many advisers from the industry as they possibly can through ridiculous “education” requirements and red tape “breaches” that don’t affect or hurt anyone. Great work as always and appreciate my tax dollars going towards big egoed public servants who make life difficult for advisers and clients alike, ensuring that no one gets what they want in the ways they want or need it.
If the red tape reduction unit is actually real, why didn’t they recommend that Advisers do not have to collect TMDs? Such a simple change and shows intent.