AIOFP says Treasury has initiated QAR discussions

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor/Publisher, Financial Newswire

24 March 2023

Treasury appears to have scheduled some early rounds of post-Quality of Advice Review consultation, with the Association of Independently Owned Financial Professionals (AIOFP) confirming it will be meeting with officials in Canberra in early April.

AIOFP executive director, Peter Johnston has told members of the association that the organisation had sent an e-mail “to formalise a time to meet and seek our views on the QAR issue and the industry in general”.

He said a small AIOFP delegation would be going to Canberra on 4 April for the meeting.

On the question of the timing of any Government announcements stemming from the QAR final recommendations, Johnston, “based on this timing for the meeting, it was not hard to deduce that any announcement is at least a month away, maybe two”.

For his part, the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones has signalled that a number of announcements are likely to be timed around the May Federal Budget.

Johnston also referenced member nervousness about the ‘experienced pathway’ and noted that “the 10 year rule is firmly entrenched into their [ALP’s) national policy”.

“Understandably, some are getting very nervous about whether this legislation will be put to Parliament as the 2026 FASEA deadline leaves little time to commence study,” his message to members said.

“Minister Jones late last year confirmed his intention to put it up to Parliament mid this year, please remember the longer it is delayed the closer it will be to the next election in 2025 and the greater the pressure will be to get it done!”

“No doubt the Coalition will promise to get it done if ALP fail, which is highly unlikely in my view.”