Natasha Panagis, IFPA head of superannuation and financial services, said after years of effort to improve the skills, qualifications, standards and ethics to get the industry recognised as a profession, this announcement “has the effect of undoing all the hard work that real, fully qualified licensed advisers have put in to be recognised as professionals”.
“The term ‘qualified adviser’ is a grossly misleading label and should be renamed so consumers know they are not dealing with a professional financial adviser and instead dealing with a product/sales representative of a financial institution, superannuation fund or insurance company,” she said.
“This announcement is insulting to qualified advisers who undertook the required education requirements to gain the necessary qualifications in order to be recognised by the public as a true professional. It is an even bigger blow to those advisers who left the industry due to the education requirements that were introduced.”
Ms Panagis said the proposal will also lead to confusion amongst consumers in thinking that someone is a “qualified adviser” even though they are much less qualified than a fully qualified professional financial adviser.
She added the terms “financial adviser” and “financial planner” are protected terms and enshrined in legislation and should not be watered down by unqualified advisers who will be allowed to provide advice, albeit on simple topics.
“We urge the government to rethink this term so that consumers know that a truly qualified adviser is someone who has a university degree or post-graduate studies, has undertaken industry courses and holds recognised designations and is also required to undertake continuous professional development,” she said.
She concluded the IFPA is disappointed the QAR recommendations failed to address the role accountants could play in helping to provide financial advice to a greater number of Australians.
“As trusted, qualified, and experienced professionals, accountants play a vital role in assisting their clients with their financial arrangements,” she said.
“We would like to see qualified accountants fill the advice gap in some way, particularly if employees of banks, superannuation funds and insurance companies will be given the opportunity to provide advice to their members. Accountants have the expertise and are just as competent as other providers to give advice to their clients.”
