Addressing the FSC Future of Advice Summit on Tuesday, Ms Hume said industry division over the past few years had made it difficult for government to get clarity on which reforms to prioritise, but that the advice sector was now “beginning to speak with one voice”.
“You’ve got advisers that are in the FPA, AFA, you’ve got [stock]brokers, insurance advisers, so trying to get everyone to be on the same page has been quite difficult,” Ms Hume said.
“But I tip my hat to the industry that they have done such a good job speaking with one voice lately, and that has made an enormous difference.”
Ms Hume said without the need to “play favourites”, the government felt it had made “progress in the direction” of relaxing red tape for advisers.
“Some of this you may not have seen yet because we have had a significant COVID interruption,” she said.
“We are getting better alignment of not just objectives, but there’s a collective will from regulators, bodies and advisers themselves, and that is a really good start.”
While further legislative reforms were to be added next year with the introduction of the single disciplinary body and compensation scheme of last resort, Ms Hume said the government was equally committed to “opportunities for red tape reduction, identifying obstacles to productivity and profitability, and reducing the burden on your industry and its participants”.
“Not only do we have a minister for deregulation who has been focused on this area, but also the Treasurer – now that the COVID recovery programs are out there and the budget has been handed down, he is turning his attention to this very area,” she said.
“We want to make sure as many Australians can get access to advice as widely as possible. In order to do that we have to make sure those in the industry can see more clients and provide them with advice in a profitable and effective way.”
Look at my left hand look at my left hand, do not watch what the right is doing just watch the one I am shaking in front of you.
No ASIC fee, NO TPB fee , leave commissions as they are. If these things do not happen Jane is just another waist of space
Sorry I didn’t hear that?
Not so much with one voice, more so a single message. The FPA is on the side of Union Run Super funds, keen to increase their profitability by trying to get further carve outs for scoped advice, the rest of the bodies are generally calling for less red tape overall.
At the time the Life Insurance Framework was being negotiated and advisers were very loudly telling the Govt the proposed changes to adviser remuneration models and the resulting outcome to the consumer would not be successful and would create increased advice costs and significantly increase the under insurance problem, one evening I had a 20 min phone call with then Assistant Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg.
He had been provided my mobile phone number by a Liberal Party connection.
Josh Frydenberg took the time to call me to discuss the matter.
Unfortunately, at the conclusion of the conversation I was left in no doubt that Josh was not going to push to intervene into the process at that time and was left with a distinct impression this was not an issue of any great importance.
I trust now Josh Frydenberg may re-assess the impact of what has eventuated and the regulatory over reach that has been counter productive and has not and will not deliver a consumer benefit.
Mistakes have been made in regard to the advice regulation of the Life Insurance industry and the advice regulation process in general and it is strangling it to death.
There is just enough time to right the wrongs of the past and allow the advice profession to be allowed to operate as a profession without a myriad of regulatory and duplicated processes that actually delivers no value to the end user and significantly reduces the profession’s ability to deliver cost effective, limited,scaled and full financial advice to consumers.
It is over to you, Josh and Jane to really do something meaningful and effective and to allow the overwhelming focus and attack on financial services in the last decade to be released in order to continue to provide advice to all Australians before it is too late.
hear here!
How many excuses does Hume need to do nothing?
The regulatory reforms needed are considerable and obvious. They are barriers which are ultimately harming CONSUMERS and need to be fixed in the interests of consumers. It shouldn’t make any difference how many industry lobby groups there are, and if they have minor differences in priorities. Hume should be making the simple and obvious decisions now and getting on with it.
One simple and obvious regulatory fix that could be done right now is to remove the redundant layer of TPB regulation over financial advisers, which adds cost and complexity for no value add whatsoever. This was actually recommended in a TPB review last year. But nothing has happened. When Hume was asked about it earlier this year she fobbed it off as Michael Sukkar’s responsibility. Now she has this new “Minister for Deregulation” to whom she can fob everything off and never have to do a thing.
Similarly, everyone in Australia seems to agree that FASEA has been a complete disaster and needs a total overhaul right now. Even the ALP, who are great proponents of excessive adviser regulation, have publicly stated that FASEA is a disaster. Yet Hume does nothing to fix it.
Hume should be sacked for constant talking and excuse making, while failing to deliver anything of substance.
blah blah blah………as long as we have to answer to ASIC, FASEA, AFCA and the TPB (all with different rules), any changes will be meaningless.
I could never understand this argument, coming from politicians. They are incapable of speaking with a united voice. Asking that we are united is like asking for Labor, the Liberals, the Greens and all the Independents to agree on something.
Whilst this provides some hope for advisers, the “proof will be in the pudding”. It has to enable advice to be provided without the plethora of research and record keeping currently required which has almost doubled the time it takes to provide “compliant” advice to satisfy Corps Act, ASIC, FASEA and TPB requirements. Our industry has been decimated over the past 10 years with the current, unprecedented, adviser exodus directly reflecting the unworkable layer of complexity/requirements added by FASEA. Thousands of previously, long term advised clients are now “orphaned” directly as a result of regulatory/legislative changes and now have no access to qualified advice.
Some compliance clarity/simplification is required URGENTLY to ensure more clients are able to access affordable and appropriate advice.
Ms Hume, the Advisers have been telling, and forced to yell at Pollies and ASIC for at least 8 years and more like 15 years that there is far to many BS REGS.
As for FARSEA, day 1 Advisers have been forced to stand up but they do not listen.
Stop blaming Advisers for once please!!!
All Canberra bubble bureaucratic morons stop behaving like little children, accept BS REGS are crazy over the top cumbersome, very poorly designed and even more poorly implemented.
[b]And actually do something to FIX it !!! [/b][b][/b]
Hume is foolish to think that “the industry speaking with one voice” – whatever that is supposed to mean – is an improvement. Better to have a range of views and select from the best of them – which is her job. And she seems to have no understanding that her role is NOT to deal with lobbyists, but to THINK and make decisions that are right for consumers, NOT the “industry”.
Please save us from those who have a “Minister for Deregulation”. What we need is some good regulation and less fraternising. And the last thing we need is Josh getting involved – he has more than he can handle in getting control of the massive debt he has created.
Not that’s it’s a terrible idea bit a compensations scheme of last resort is hardly a reduction in red tape…one way or another, directly or indirectly it’s an added cost. It should be coupled with the removal of some other costs…….