Better Advice Bill passes lower house
Consultation around a new disciplinary body for financial advisers is now open after the Better Advice Bill passed through the lower house.
With the Financial Sector Reform (Hayne Royal Commission Response – Better Advice) Bill 2021 (Better Advice Bill) passing the House of Representatives on 4 August 2021, the Morrison government has released a new policy paper for consultation on key parts of the regulations to support the establishment of the single disciplinary body for financial advisers.
Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation Jane Hume said the policy paper seeks feedback on the circumstances when ASIC must convene a Financial Services and Credit Panel to consider alleged financial adviser misconduct.
This also includes the types of administrative sanctions made against a financial adviser that must be included on the Financial Advisers Register.
“Stakeholder feedback will inform the development of exposure draft regulations which will be released later this year for further consultation. It is intended that regulations will come into force on 1 January 2022, subject to passage of legislation,” Ms Hume said.
The Better Advice Bill was introduced into Parliament on 24 June 2021 and delivers Recommendation 2.10 of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry to establish a new disciplinary system for financial advisers.
The Better Advice Bill expands the role of the Financial Services and Credit Panel within the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to operate as the single disciplinary body, with certain disciplinary decisions of the Panel to be listed on ASIC’s publicly accessible Financial Advisers Register.
The policy paper is available on the Treasury website, with the submissions deadline on 20 August 2021.
Tony Zhang
Tony Zhang is a journalist at Accountants Daily, which is the leading source of news, strategy and educational content for professionals working in the accounting sector.
Since joining the Momentum Media team in 2020, Tony has written for a range of its publications including Lawyers Weekly, Adviser Innovation, ifa and SMSF Adviser. He has been full-time on Accountants Daily since September 2021.
