Disciplinary body missing ‘essential component’

Responding to the government’s draft legislation around the disciplinary body, the FPA suggested the current proposal may be a missed opportunity to move towards individual registration of advisers, as the responsibility for maintaining registrations still lays with the licensee.

“A financial planner’s registration should follow them throughout their career and be a valued symbol of their professional status and commitment to uphold professional values,” FPA chief executive Dante De Gori said.

“The creation of a personal obligation to register is an essential component of any professional framework. It’s the missing piece to the puzzle.

“Similar to the legal, medical or architectural professions, the FPA strongly supports a model in which registration is the personal responsibility of each financial planner and is not connected with their employment or authorisation under an AFSL.”

The association said by making the licensee responsible for registration, the new body was effectively duplicating the existing ASIC authorisation process, rather than connecting registration with the individual adviser and creating a more transparent record for consumers to access.

“A true professional registration will have flow-on benefits for consumers as it will improve the quality of the information on the Financial Adviser Register and ensure anyone can easily check the qualifications, registration status and disciplinary record of their financial planner,” Mr De Gori said.

“Establishing a professional registration for financial planners is a perfect opportunity to build the Financial Adviser Register into the valuable resource that it could be.”

The FPA also pointed out that while the proposed legislation removed the requirement for individual advisers to register with the TPB, licensees and corporate authorised representatives were still caught by duplication in needing to register with the tax body.

“While the proposed reform is positive and addresses obvious duplication, the current drafting does not meet the Government’s intention of creating a single set of professional standards for financial planners and a single regulatory regime,” the association said.

Mr De Gori encouraged members to continue sharing their feedback on the improvements needed to the advice regulatory regime “so we can continue to build a thriving profession”.