In an online discussion with FPA chief executive Sarah Abood, shadow financial services minister Stephen Jones said Labor is looking at a range of measures in the consumer data space that it will consider implementing if elected.
Mr Jones said this would include making it easier for advisers to access client information through the MyGov portal, where clients have provided permission in a similar way to how accountants currently access information through the ATO.
“Within the consumer data space, there are a whole bunch of ways that we should be able to have more frictionless information flows which are directed by the client or customer,” he explained.
As part of implementing this, Mr Jones stressed that it would be critical to ensure that the right sort of consumer and data security protections are put in place.
“These things can become a honeypot for fraudsters and cyber criminals, so all these aspects need to be looked at,” he stated.
Ms Abood said this was welcome news for FPA members, with financial advisers under current arrangements finding it difficult or even impossible to engage with government agencies such as the ATO and Centrelink on behalf of their clients.
“The idea of being able to efficiently and securely access that information in a timely way would be really transformative for many practices,” said Ms Abood.
This is a significant issue facing advisers, she said, with access to information about clients currently high cost and very limited.
In a recent paper released by the FPA, the association noted that the ATO allows tax agents to access its online services portal and act on behalf of their clients, but financial planners are excluded from this arrangement despite operating under the same regulatory framework with the Tax Practitioners Board.
“As only one tax agent is able to be registered per person and, as many people also have an accountant, the portal is also not able to recognise a financial planner as a client’s second tax agent,” the FPA explained.
Centrelink and the ATO should develop their online services portals to ensure financial planners, and other relevant professionals, have access to a full range of functions and can act effectively on behalf of their clients.
Dear shadow minister, please dont think that accountants access is rosy or good.. we have to constantly re log after 20 minutes as any inactivity for 20 mins auto log off,and with 2 factor including your mobile its a bit of a pain to do that logging in all day esp wifi access to mobile etc. I understand in some business that people may share desks etc, but the majority of tax agent portal access users would appreciate if there is an option for the minimum amount of time to change, give us options, like 20 mins, 1 hour, 2 hours or 8 hour day… that would make us accountants life just that a little bit easier… the current govt now don’t listen to our requests anymore, part of the reason they are probably doomed for a hung parliament. bring back the accountants exemption for planning, worked for 50 years no issues..
And so it begins! Once we have established a private and secure MyGov account, let’s give anyone and everyone access to our personal data shall we? And then we wonder why our personal data finds its way into the public domain? This is a bad idea!
I’m assuming you are not an advice professional by your statements. You have no idea the problems and egregious inefficiencies created by this mess while making superannuation soo much more complex and then excluding advisers who are the only ones to be allowed under licence to provide advice on these matters.
This would be of huge assistance to the financial planning sector but don’t forget the SMSF fund administrators that are not acting directly for the member but, by acting for the trustees, are generally acting indirectly for the members. The ability to data match contributions, pensions, TBAs and TBCs would be of immense help to all, not least the members. At the moment administrators and planners are blind to the ATO’s data which is causing mistakes that add extra rectification work to all concerned and potential penalties for the trustees.
It can’t come soon enough.