Two professional bodies representing advice practitioners have welcomed a promise by the opposition to reform the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR) and boost the number of people working in the sector.
The Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA) and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) stated recent comments by the coalition that it supported the scaling back of the CSLR levy imposed on the advice sector were consistent with their calls for change.
FAAA chief executive Sara Abood said: “We are encouraged to see a number of the coalition’s proposed measures align with the FAAA’s five key priorities for the next federal government.
“We continue to advocate for concrete reform to CSLR, specifically capping the advice levy at $10 million and ending adviser responsibility for product failures, and believe that without such change, rebuilding the industry will remain difficult.”
CAANZ tax, superannuation and financial services leader Susan Franks added: “We also support a plan to fix the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort to lower costs for advisers and ensure it’s fair. We have advocated for reform in this area since its operational problems began to emerge, so we’ll be keen to see what the coalition is proposing here.”
The two organisations also noted a commitment to increase the number of people providing advice was a positive development, but had to be followed through on if there was a change of government.
Franks said: “We note the coalition has also promised to reform education and relevant degree standards to get more financial advisers into the industry as the current requirements are too restrictive and fail to cater for those who have related qualifications such as business degrees.
“CAANZ has been advocating for all Australians to have access to financial advice by allowing qualified accountants to provide it and we look forward to hearing more details about the coalition’s announcement.”
Abood added: “We applaud the coalition on its ambitious target of 30,000 advisers. A numerical target for rebuilding adviser numbers is a helpful signal of intent, though this must be matched by action that makes the profession more viable and attractive to new entrants.”
She pointed out the coalition’s position aligned with the FAAA’s list of changes that need to take place to reform the advice sector, including giving advisers access to the ATO portal, reducing the regulatory burden through the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes reforms and supporting new entrants to the profession.
“We continue to seek clarity from Labor, the minor parties and the independents regarding their positions on these same asks, demonstrating their support for the advice profession and the great work we do helping Australian consumers be better off,” Abood said.
