Governments inject $1m into APIR
APIR Systems has received a significant boost to extend its identification system to with a hefty capital injection from the ACT and Federal governments.
The group has received two government grants totaling nearly $1 million to develop and roll out the system over the next 12 months.
APIR director Andy Hutching says $850,000 came from the Federal Government with the remainder coming from the ACT Government. He says the grants represent about half the cost of the $1.8 million identification project.
Upon completion, the project will create a compliance reference involving dealers and proper authority holders. It will include information such as education and training levels, licensing restrictions, association memberships and whether an intermediary has indemnity insurance.
Basic information will be supplied by the intermediaries with the rest coming from third party groups such as education providers, intermediary associations, dealer groups and insurers.
Hutchings says each of these will need to be approved providers of information under the requirements of the Financial Services Reform Bill (FSRB) and Policy Statement 146 (PS146).
Advisers and dealer groups will also be able to check their own compliance details and any lapses will be transmitted through the system to fund managers, the relevant dealer group and the adviser themselves.
The concept has received widespread support from a group of stakeholders which includes industry groups, life insurance, financial planning and accountancy bodies, fund managers and banks.
"This concept must be seen as an industry standard with full transparency which is being supported the stakeholders and their members," Hutchings says.
"When many of these groups saw the outline of the changes they felt there was a need to lift standards without being a huge cost burden to the industry. A centralized concept was very popular with the larger companies and group and it was decided to extend that to include planners and dealers."
The system should cover all practitioners in insurance, financial advice and accounting and will begin to roll out in March and be fully operational by October 2001.
The system will cost each adviser $200 per year and Hutchings says since it is a non-partisan third party compliance system he doesn't see any advisers or dealer groups not joining the system.
AUTHOR
Jason Spits
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