Michelle Levy confident QAR process will ‘turn into law quickly’

Quality of Advice Review (QAR) reviewer Michelle Levy said she is “hopeful” recommendations she puts forward in December will be implemented swiftly.

Appearing on the ifa Show podcast prior to the release of the QAR proposal paper, Ms Levy said the review is on track to be released on 16 December and is confident of a quick turnaround.

“I am hopeful — and of course, I don’t control this — that it will be quite quick,” Ms Levy said.

“So part of the process is, as much as I can, to build as much support as I can through this process. The more support there is for it, the easier it will be for it to turn into law quickly.

“… there's a lot of momentum for change and a lot of support for getting access to advice. So with luck, fingers crossed, it won't be long.”

In the consultation paper, Ms Levy confirmed she believes changes must be made to the regulatory framework and put forward a number of proposals, including that the financial services regime should regulate the provision of “personal advice” which should be “somewhat broader” to ensure clarity.

A number of industry groups welcomed the proposal paper, including the Joint Associations Working Group (JAWG) — made up of 12 key associations including the AFA, FPA, FSC, SIAA, The Advisers Association and CA ANZ — the Financial Services Council (FSC) and The SMSF Association.

CEO John Maroney commented that the paper is a “breath of fresh air”.

“Where the proposal paper suggests removing the requirement for statements of advice (SOAs) to allow the profession to provide financial advice in a way that suits their customers, it concurs with the association’s recommendations to the review that certain types of advice should be able to be provided in a simplified form,” Mr Maroney said.

“We have long argued for the need to recognise the professionalism of the sector, cut excessive red tape, and put the consumer front and centre in the advice equation.”

On the podcast, Ms Levy said she is keen to hear feedback from stakeholders and whether her proposals could help to solve issues in the advice sector.

"So I encourage people to think about it with an open mind to take and to be prepared to take responsibility,” she said.

“Are you doing the right thing for your customer or your client? If so, have some confidence in what you're doing and the law should support that.”

Feedback on the proposal paper is now open and closes on 23 September 2022.

Listen to the full podcast with Ms Levy episode here.

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.