Financial advice should be minister’s top legislative priority

There has been considerable criticism from within the financial advice profession about the speed with which the government has addressed the Quality of Advice Review (QAR) recommendations, with many latching onto his “hot mess” comments ahead of the last election and his push for the quick wins in response to the QAR.

Speaking on a recent ifa podcast, Financial Services Council (FSC) chief executive Blake Briggs said there is reason for the advice sector to be optimistic that the process will speed-up.

“There is a bit of fine-tuning to be done. I think everyone acknowledges that,” Mr Briggs said.

“However, what we have now is cabinet-approved policy positions, and the minister and Treasury are going to the legislative drafting process at the moment.

“So, a lot of work has been done in Treasury and the office of Parliamentary Council right now to get the legislation drafted to do the final consultation that’s required around key elements, and then we’ll move straight to introduction into Parliament.”

Finalising the legislation should, Mr Briggs said, be at the top of Mr Jones’ agenda.

“If I was to say what my priorities for the Assistant Treasurer would be in the course of 2024, it would be financial advice, number one. Financial advice, number two. Financial advice, number three,” he said.

“You and I obviously both speak quite regularly with Sarah Abood at the FAAA, for example. They share this prioritisation as well. It’s one of those rare but really positive instances where there is actually very broad agreement across the industry.

“So long as we continue to speak with one voice, and we have been so successful for a couple of years now, we can ensure that we maintain that prioritisation with the government and also support the progress of those reforms through Parliament so they don’t get unnecessarily delayed.”

He noted, however, that there will be a lot on the government’s agenda throughout 2024 competing for attention.

“There are so many things on the government’s agenda that I think they’re either trying to get through as much of their agenda as they can in the remainder of this term of Parliament, or potentially seek mandates for reforms in the next Parliament,” Mr Briggs said.

“I point to things like retirement income reforms, which the Treasurer has very strongly put on the agenda and will be an area of discussion that obviously dovetails with advice review.

“We’re quite strongly [of] the view that consumers should seek high-quality advice from a qualified financial adviser. And I mean that in the traditional sense of qualified financial adviser. We think everyone’s retirement needs, particularly as you go up to middle income levels, become much more complex and individual advice is so much more important than some of the tick-the-box default kind of arrangements.”

The managed investment scheme review, which includes addressing the sophisticated investor test, is also on the list.

“The Assistant Treasurer has flagged reforms in that space this year, and then there’s a whole range of other things going on with the compensation scheme of last resort kicking off,” Mr Briggs noted.

“So, it will be a busy year for all involved. We will continue to consult closely with our members, the advice licensees, the superannuation funds, investment platforms and fund managers.”

To hear more from Blake Briggs, tune in here.