The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has again been asked to look at the Industry Super Australia (ISA) ‘compare the pair’ television advertisements, amid suggestions they may not be appropriately comparing like with like.
Tasmanian Liberal Senator, David Bushby, has used Senate Estimates to specifically ask ASIC the degree of its powers with respect to false and misleading advertising and whether it would be concerned about a calculator posted by a market participant that was not comparing “like for like”.
ASIC deputy chairman, Peter Kell answered that the regulator would be “certainly” interested in such circumstances, while ASIC commissioner, Greg Tanzer, said he believed Bushby was referring to the ‘compare the pair’ advertising, which ASIC had looked at in the past.
Tanzer said that at the crux of the issue was the way in which the information was presented and the extent to which disclaimers were used.
Tanzer pointed out that it was open for companies, which took exception to the advertisements, to pursue their own actions but acknowledged that there was “not a strong tradition” of financial services companies doing so.
Asked by Bushby whether ASIC would necessarily take action based on a complaint from an industry participant, Tanzer said it would depend on the circumstances, including the alternative remedies available to the market participant.
He said there was not a strong tradition of financial services companies taking private action and that they were more likely to come to ASIC to complain but, in such circumstances, the regulator also had to take into account whether consumers were being misled.
