First QAR draft legislation just weeks away: Jones

Draft legislation on the first stream of the Quality of Advice Review (QAR) is expected to be released within weeks, according to Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones. 

Jones was speaking to advisers in Wollongong today (29 September) at an event in association with the Financial Services Council (FSC) and the Financial Advice Association of Australia (FAAA).

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Writing on LinkedIn after the event, FSC chief executive, Blake Briggs, said: “The minister confirmed that draft legislation of stage one of the government’s financial advice reforms is only weeks away, and is scheduled to be introduced to Parliament early in the new year.”

Earlier this week, Bryan Ashenden, head of financial literacy and advocacy, said he also expected to see certain draft legislation issued by the end of October. 

However, he felt it was likely to be the start of the new financial year in July 2024 before any official legislation came into effect following the consultation period.

The first stream of the QAR reforms proposed by the government covers “removing regulatory red tape that adds to the cost of advice without benefiting consumers”. 

This includes certain exemptions to the ban on conflicted remuneration being simplified and some removed and standardised consumer consent requirements being introduced for life, general and consumer credit insurance commissions. 

There are then two further streams of recommendations on expanding access to retirement income advice and exploring new channels for advice.

The government’s formal response approved 14 of the 22 recommendations put forward by reviewer Michelle Levy and said it will assess the remaining eight by the end of the year.

In June, the government told the Joint Associations Working Group (JAWG), which includes representatives from organisations such as the FSC, FAAA, and the Self-Managed Superannuation Fund Association (SMSFA), that it expected legislation would be ready in the latter half of the year or beginning of 2024. 

It said it would be conducting further consultation on matters such as the design of a replacement for SOAs, expanding access to affordable retirement income advice, and the financial adviser Code of Ethics.