‘Far from ideal’: Hume grilled on Levy appointment for Quality of Advice review

Following the announcement on Friday, the Association of Independently Owned Financial Professionals (AIOFP) executive director Peter Johnston issued an open letter to financial services minister Jane Hume addressing the appointment of the Allens Partner, which has been seen by ifa.

In the letter, Mr Johnston directly addressed Ms Levy’s appointment, asking Ms Hume to respond to a series of questions and statements, particularly around the fact that the review is scheduled to be released in December, months after the federal election has taken place.

“With Ms Levy reporting by December it is obviously post the federal election, which is far from ideal with the advisers holding your government accountable for its past handling of our industry,” the letter read.

“Your government’s actions and consequences have been well known over the past 5 years, surely Ms Levy is quite aware of the general circumstances and can provide an interim report before the election for your government to be judged on?

“This sequence will give the advice industry an opportunity to assess whether you are serious about eliminating the unintended and intended consequences of the FASEA, LIF and other legislation you have introduced over the last 8 years before they vote at the election.”

Meanwhile, the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) welcomed Ms Levy’s appointment and the release of the terms of reference for the review.

“The FPA welcomes the Quality of Advice review as the perfect opportunity to measure and assess the impact of all this regulatory change on the profession, and address the unintended consequences created such as the tick a box, rules-based, compliance-heavy advice process that financial planners are currently required to comply with,” FPA CEO Sarah Abood said.

“It will also set a framework enabling financial planners to provide affordable, engaging, scalable and professional advice.“

Similarly, the SMSF Association CEO John Maroney applauded the news, saying Ms Levy will bring a “the necessary expertise and experience to this critical issue of over-regulation that is confronting the financial advice industry”.

“Aside from her legal work, her roles as a member and former chair of the Law Council of Australia's Superannuation Committee and a member of the ATO’s Superannuation Industry Stewardship Group make her ideally suited to this position,” Mr Maroney said on Monday.

The Quality of Advice review will invite submissions from the public and consult with stakeholders, including consumers, industry, and regulators.

A report will be provided to the government by 16 December this year.

READ MORE: ‘Entirely in the hands of the Minister’: Key exclusion in Quality of Advice review

Neil Griffiths

Neil is the Deputy Editor of the wealth titles, including ifa and InvestorDaily.

Neil is also the host of the ifa show podcast.