The Australian Bankers Association (ABA) has called for greater regulatory and legislative clarity with respect to what differentiates ‘factual information’, ‘general advice’ and ‘personal advice’.
In its submission to the Cooper Review, the ABA pointed to the recent changes with respect to intra-fund advice and said irrespective of those changes there was still a need to give further consideration to the distinctions between factual information, general advice and personal advice.
The submission said the financial advice and disclosure regime had unnecessarily restricted the provision of information and education on some financial products.
“Furthermore, the ABA believes that the financial services industry is constantly changing with the emergence of new products and services. Public policy on superannuation, social security and taxation as well as the legislative and regulatory regime is not well known or understood,” it said.
“There are anomalies in the system that discourages individuals seeking professional financial advice to assist them to get the best out of their superannuation savings,” the ABA submission said. “For example, current taxation arrangements inhibit incentives for financial advice relating to superannuation, such as individuals being unable to obtain a tax rebate or deduction for advice on superannuation, while a deduction is available on non superannuation.”
The ABA believes that financial planning is a vital part of the financial services system, as consumers need to receive financial information and financial advice about savings and investment opportunities that best suit their needs, circumstances and preferences — including superannuation.
It said the superannuation and retirement incomes framework should enable retirees to take advantage of greater superannuation flexibility to build responsible retirement income strategies that best suit their needs, circumstances and preferences.
“Therefore, it is important for members and consumers to receive useful information about superannuation and other retirement income products,” the submission said.
