
The corporate regulator has called on advisers to dob in rogues and wrongdoers, describing the sector as a “target-rich environment”.
The lawyer and regulator also hit back at “reports in the media” suggesting administrative actions – such as licence conditions and banning orders – are an insufficient remedy to wrongdoing in financial services, arguing that “taking away someone’s livelihood” is a very serious regulatory action.
“Administrative actions are preferable [to other remedies such as criminal proceedings] because they have the ability to actually change the way a business is constructed and fix some of the problems,” she said.
At the same time, Ms Bird explained that the FOFA legislation has opened up new “civil penalties” that the regulator may take advantage of when scrutinising misconduct in financial advice, such as breaches of fiduciary duty.
The comments come as the government announces a new Office of the Whistleblower within ASIC and an ASIC-administered adviser register.
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