The Labor government’s proposed opt-in rule is likely to move ahead unchanged, with Treasury stating the reform policy is not up for debate.
Treasury financial services taskforce unit corporations and financial services division manager, Richard Sandlant, said the proposed changes under the government’s future of financial advice (FoFA) reforms are announced policies, emphasising the reforms have been set by the government.
“There are still key decisions that Superannuation and Financial Services Minister Bill Shorten will make about the implementation, about the detail around the FoFA reform package,” Sandlant told delegates at yesterday’s FPA National Conference on the Gold Coast.
“Is opt-in still up for debate? I would say no. I would say as an industry it is more about how to implement policy in a way that is going to be as beneficial as possible and to have the least unnecessary cost and consequences to the industry, rather than re-having the debate about opt-in or about banning commissions.”
Sandlant said the government is working on a broad timeframe of around mid-2011 to release its FoFA draft legislation.
“Where we are up to is narrowing down our views on the pros and cons and we will be briefing Minister Shorten in December. I don’t know whether he is going to make a final decision before Christmas or if he will make his final decision in the new year,” he said.
“You should expect to hear resolutions, if not at the end of this year then in the early new year.”
FPA general manager policy and government relations, Dante De Gori, said the association is working closely with Treasury on its implementation plans for opt-in.
“The approach we are taking there is assisting them in finding a solution to allow opt-in to actually work if it is to indeed be implemented,” De Gori said.
He said the FPA is also exploring whether association members, who are held to a code of professional practice and have stringent client contracts in place, can be exempt from opt-in.
