Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Bill Shorten has again been accused of protecting and advantaging industry superannuation with respect to the provision of financial advice.
Opposition assistant treasurer Senator Mathias Cormann levelled the accusation based on the Government’s Stronger Super legislation push, claiming the proposed legislation, by introducing undisclosed commissions in superannuation, would impose hidden fees on superannuation fund members for financial advice that they may never receive.
Cormann claimed the Government’s approach to the provision of advice by industry superannuation funds stood in contrast to its "attack on small business financial advisers".
“It is hypocritical for Bill Shorten to attack small business financial advisers and then attempt to legislate to specifically permit hidden financial advice fees for super funds in MySuper," he said.
Cormann said that under the draft MySuper legislation the cost of intra-fund advice would be treated as an administrative cost and would be charged to every member of an industry fund every single year, even if those members did not access advice.
"Minister Shorten continues to protect the monopoly of industry funds as default funds in modern awards and he has done nothing to improve corporate governance as recommended by the Cooper Review," he said.
"Under Bill Shorten’s draft legislation intra-fund advice provided by union-dominated industry super funds would not be subject to the proposed prohibition on commissions, enhanced disclosure or transparency measures of the Future of Financial Advice reform," Cormann said. "Further, intra-fund advice will not require the opt-in provisions Bill Shorten is trying to impose on every other financial adviser across Australia.
