FAAA tests politicians on policy with new Federal Election Hub

In the lead-up to the election, Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA) chief executive Sarah Abood said the association has been engaging with politicians and industry stakeholders seeking their commitment to the association’s key asks – including their position on the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR), the Quality of Advice Review (QAR) and ATO portal.

“I encourage every member, and indeed, every person who cares about advice policy reform, to go to the FAAA Federal Election Hub and carefully compare the candidates,” Abood said.

“It’s important to really get a sense for where each and every candidate stands on our key asks and the future of the profession.”

She added: “Financial advisers need a commitment from political parties of all persuasions to provide immediate certainty for the advice profession and reduce costs.”

This comes just days after the FAAA CEO told ifa the association has expanded its ambassador program in anticipation of a minority government.

Among the FAAA’s pre-election initiatives announced in February was the formation of the FAAA Advice Ambassadors program wherein association members would liaise directly with federal politicians to advocate on behalf of the profession.

With the federal election just days away, Abood said the program has been “going well”, however, with the polls suggesting a minority government is likely, the association believes it’s increasingly important it extends its reach beyond the major parties.

“We’re still working through some seats to make sure that our goal can be met. We’d love to have a member of our association representing financial advice to every politician, and part of the reason that we launched this campaign is that we need to engage with pretty much everyone now,” Abood said on The ifa Show.

“It’s not going to be enough for us to just engage in Canberra with the minister, with the Treasurer, with various office holders, because it’s likely that we will end up with a minority government.”

As the election heats up, Abood said ambassadors have become a key component in the FAAA’s efforts to engage and educate politicians on the value of financial advice.

“A key goal that they have is to engage with every member of Parliament, both in the lower house and in the Senate, to explain what it is that financial advisers do, how we add value to consumers, how we help them with the cost-of-living crisis, how we help make Australians better off and not dependent on the social security system,” she said.

“I think it will be, long-term, really important for the profession to be better understood by politicians more broadly … I think when we work together as a profession we can be incredibly effective so we want to do everything we can to amplify that.”

In addition to this, Abood said the association has been working hard to create events and opportunities for the profession to engage with politicians and understand “what their intentions are” relative to the profession in the lead-up to the election.

Most recently, the FAAA hosted an event last week in Wentworth with Allegra Spender, an independent candidate in the upcoming election, with more summit events set to take place across the country leading up to 3 May.

To hear more from Sarah Abood , tune in here.