FSC welcomes Royal Commission implementation roadmap

THE Financial Services Council (FSC) today welcomed the release of the Morrison Government’s Royal Commission implementation roadmap, confirming the government’s intent to act on all of the Commission’s recommendations by the end of 2020.

FSC CEO Sally Loane said with the release of the roadmap, industry has certainty and can approach the task of implementation in a more targeted way, ensuring resources are allocated and directed at the Federal Government’s priorities.

“It is very important to move quickly to rebuild consumer confidence and enhance consumer outcomes, however any legislation to implement the recommendations should be treated with the same diligence and rigor as any other new bill to be brought before the Parliament,” Ms Loane said.  

“The industry is committed to embracing this program of reform through action, strengthening the trust and ties between financial services and the community.

“The FSC is committed to working with Government to ensure all recommendations are implemented in the timeframes.”

The FSC said it looked forward to working on the implementation of the following recommendations:

• 2.4 – Ending grandfathered commissions for financial advisers;
• 2.7 – Reference checking and information sharing for financial advisers;
• 1.15 – Enforceable code provisions for industry codes of conduct;
• 4.7 – Application of unfair contract terms provisions to insurance contracts.

There are a number of recommendations due to be implemented that the FSC believes require further discussion with government:

• 2.10 – A new disciplinary system for financial advisers;
• 7.1 – Compensation scheme of last resort. 

Ms Loane said modernising the default superannuation system to end the proliferation of duplicate accounts by implementing a ‘default once’ framework has not been dealt with as part of this implementation roadmap.

“We look forward to the Government providing a response to the issue and timing for the reform as part of its response to the Productivity Commission’s report into the efficiency of the super system,” Ms Loane said.

www.fsc.org.au

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