Concern around timing of FOFA bills debate
Financial planning groups are concerned that the Government may move to debate the Future of Financial Advice bills as early as tomorrow, while key independent Bob Katter is absent, campaigning in the Queensland State Election.
Both the Financial Planning Association (FPA) and the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) have been strongly lobbying the independents in the House of Representatives to extract specific amendments to the FOFA bills, and have been relying on Katter's presence in the Parliament both this week and next.
However, Katter's involvement with his own political party in the campaign has meant his absence from the current sitting week and his likely absence through much of next week.
The Federal Opposition is expected to move a series of amendments to the FOFA bills, including dropping the two-year opt-in and making annual fee disclosure arrangements prospective.
Both the FPA and the AFA have written to the independents outlining their concerns about the FOFA bills and defining the types of amendments they believe are necessary to ensure the legislation achieves the Government's original objectives of better and cheaper advice.
AFA chief executive Richard Klipin confirmed that his organisation had been maintaining its lobbying efforts and was hopeful those arguments had been understood and accepted.
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