Federal treasury

Policy & Regulation

Govt pressured to exclude SMSFs from DDO regime

Self-Managed Superannuation Funds should be exempted from the Government’s new design and distribution regime because they are not like other financial products, accordin...

Policy & Regulation

Treasury nebulous on future FASEA funding

The Federal Treasury has delivered only vague answers to Parliamentary questioning about the future funding of the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority....

Financial planning

Release of grandfathering submissions reveals positioning

Submissions directed to Treasury around the end of grandfathering revealed little significant resistance but genuine concern around how client rebates should work....

Policy & Regulation

FPA urges personal best interest duty for mortgage brokers

Mortgage brokers themselves rather than credit licensees should be made to honour a best interest duty to clients, according to the Financial Planning Association....

Policy & Regulation

Planners are over-burdened and over-regulated

Seven different regulators combined with three different complaints and disciplinary bodies mean that financial planners have been left sinking in a regulatory swamp....

People & Products

Policy head departs from SMSF Association

Policy head, Jordan George, has announced he has resigned from his role at the SMSF Association which he held for the past seven-and-half years, effective 23 August....

Financial planning

Let us give ‘incidental advice’ say accountants

Major accounting body, Chartered Accountants ANZ has argued for accountants to be given the right to give ‘incidental advice’ under a carve-out from the financial advice ...

Life/Risk

FPA gives cautious backing to standardised insurance terms

The Financial Planning Association has given its backing to the standardisation of terms and definitions with respect to insurance with MySuper products but has caused ag...

Financial planning

Ending grandfathering impacting emotional health of advisers

The Federal Treasury has been warned that politicians have failed to understand grandfathering with the result that the emotional health and well-being of advisers is bei...

Financial planning

Tailored advice crucial in retirement product selection

The Federal Treasury has been told that tailored advice is crucial to assisting consumers in selecting retirement income products....

Policy & Regulation

Exclude advice obligations from insurance claims – ASFA

Insurance claims handling should not be encumbered by the same obligations as financial advice because it would risk making it unaffordable to super fund members, accordi...

Financial planning

Financial adviser exam will cost millions

The Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority’s business plan has revealed the financial adviser exam will cost millions and be the authority’s single biggest expe...

Policy & Regulation

Treasury defends APRA secrecy on banks

The Federal Treasury has defended legislative provisions which would enable the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to keep secret any instructions it may give to ...