Mere days after the Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA) urged the Senate economics references committee to call witnesses and set hearing dates, the Senate has instead delayed its reporting date four months from 27 March to 28 July.
“In the context of the blowout in the cost of the scheme and the overwhelming evidence of deep flaws in the design and implementation of the CSLR, this delay is very frustrating,” FAAA general manager policy, advocacy and standards Phil Anderson said on LinkedIn.
“The FAAA was instrumental in the calling of this inquiry last September and the reasons for an inquiry have grown exponentially since then.
“When faced with the news last week that not only will the scheme potentially cost the advice profession $70 million in 2025–26, but in fact much more in 2026–27, there is an absolute urgency for the government to take action.”
On Friday last week, the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR) released its initial levy estimate for the upcoming financial year, calculated along with independent external actuaries Finity, with the figure skyrocketing to a combined $77,975,000 across all sectors.
The breakdown across industries is bad news for financial advisers, with the vast majority of $70.11 million being attributed to the subsector.
As Anderson noted, the actuarial report also indicated that FY2026-27 could be considerably higher again, with early projections indicating a figure as high as $125 million.
In a separate statement on Friday, Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones announced the Albanese government has directed the Treasury to undertake a comprehensive review of the CSLR.
“Deferring action on the grounds of a delay in the Senate inquiry or due to calling a new review is simply not an acceptable position to take,” Anderson added.
“The advice profession needs and demands greater certainty on their exposure under the CSLR and it is essential that the government and the Parliament listen to those calls and make commitments before the election.”
In its statement earlier this week, FAAA chief executive Sarah Abood said the levy and review announcement shouldn’t be “an excuse to delay the Senate inquiry in Dixon Advisory”.
“The case had been made for the critical importance of this inquiry, and stakeholders have provided multiple submissions. There is much that still needs to be investigated. Senators Bragg and Walsh should call witnesses for this inquiry immediately,” Abood said.
“We have continued to unearth problems not only at Dixon Advisory but also at other firms where a variety of problems have arisen.”
Given Minister Jones has announced his retirement and a federal election is on the horizon, Abood flagged her concern that the inquiry could be lost in the shuffle.
“If anyone is in any doubt that there are problems with the way that the CSLR has been designed, and the potential implications emanating from not just Dixon Advisory but other firms, then they need only to read the submissions that have already been made,” Abood said.
“Much of the work to determine the problems with the CSLR has already been done, and it must not go to waste.”
Ripped off by Dixon Advisory, trying to get compensated, good luck with that! Offered an insult pittance by Administrators (PWC). CSLR is our only chance of some Justice after all these years…..
Alan Dixon, David Evans and their cronies can sweat it out for another 4 months.
How many people working within the Dixon and Evans organisation just followed like sheep. So much for ethical standards in financial advice. All should be called to give evidence at the inquiry.
There is nothing they can say, nothing to support a delay, nothing that is acceptable as a reason and nothing to justify why a Govt continually discriminates against a specific profession.
The relentless attack on Financial Advisers over a sustained decade has destroyed good people…people that could have continued on providing high quality, ethical advice to the Australian community.
But successive Govt’s both Liberal & Labor have chosen to line them all up in front of a firing squad and be happy to pull the trigger every time.
An abysmal & unacceptable disgraceful performance on every single level of regulation and legislation.
CSLR built to design
It’s NDIS 2.0. Except we’re fully on the hook.
Another fantastic heap of rubbish out of Canberra.
ALP out.
Disgusting.
They can report back after the election and then the Government can get cracking on some quick wins.
Set back until after the election. What a waste of time and money.
So FAAA – should we just keep paying ?
They’re so quick in permanently banning a financial planner for alleged insurance churning based on incomplete and manipulated evidence and ruin this financial planner’s life including family.
Yet, they keep delaying this in the hopes of everyone forgets about it. They scrambling to hide the truth.
This is disgusting. If Jones is not staying on the portfolio should be immediately handed to a new minister to take decisive action.
Paper jam in the shredder perhaps?
Let’s work on getting elected again, who cares about the financial planners – they can pay increased CSLRs while we enjoy the junkets.
The government is once again playing political football (with the Jones team walking off the field), pushing this back another four months to avoid exposing their mismanagement before the election.
It’s time for the advice industry to start shouting from the rooftops and keep the b@stards honest!”
“Keeping” the b@stards honest implies that they ever were!
conveniently after the election
Pundits: Advisers can be kingmakers! We can influence elections!
Politicians: Nah mate, we will deal with this (maybe) later.
100% OF AFSL’S / ADVISERS MUST REFUSE TO PAY CSLR LEVIES.
THERE IS NO OTHER OPTION.
LET ASIC / GOVT TRY TO CLOSE THE WHOLE INDUSTRY.
ADVISERS MUST MAKE A STRONG STAND !!!!!!!!!
“Dixon inquiry reporting date pushed back 4 months”
This is why so many people are fed up with this Industry. This will end being kicked so far down the road it will be buried.
utterly staggering. how is it possible for even the worst politicians to show such disregard for this blatant inequity. Kick the can down the road and hope it gets forgotten!