QAR final report welcomed by FPA

Yasmine Raso

Senior Journalist, Financial Newswire

20 December 2022

The Financial Planning Association (FPA) has signalled its encouragement after the final report of the Quality of Advice Review (QAR) was handed down to the Government by reviewer, Michelle Levy.

FPA chief executive, Sarah Abood, said the association is “eagerly awaiting” the recommendations to be made by Financial Services Minister, Stephen Jones, and it is “crucial” they are implemented as quickly as possible to ease the regulatory pressures faced by financial planners.

“The Review is a critical opportunity to reduce the cost of providing advice in Australia and improve the ability of Australians to get access to high quality professional financial advice,” she said.

“While we are waiting to see the final recommendations, our members were encouraged by those made in the Proposal Paper earlier this year, including a more principles-based approach to regulating the provision of financial advice.

“The FPA believes the regulatory costs of providing personal advice must come down, to help improve the affordability of advice for consumers and ensure there is a level playing field for the regulatory requirements and standards imposed on advice providers.

“Further, the regulatory environment should facilitate the provision of simple personal financial advice to clients in an affordable manner by financial planners and financial planning practices, to meet consumer demand.”

The association also highlighted key requirements the new recommendations must satisfy, including:

• build consumer trust in the different types of advice services and benefits through high standards, appropriate education and training, effective requirements and accountability, and transparent regulation of the provider, applied consistently across the financial services sector,
• reduce input costs into the provision of financial advice,
• facilitate an increase in financial advice providers,
• ensure active accountability for all financial advice providers,
• maintain consistent consumer protections across the profession, and
• be fair and equitable.

Abood also said the Government should consider the impact of regulatory change on the competition in the financial advice sector when handing down recommendations.

“Importantly, only ‘relevant providers’ who meet the professional standards should be legally permitted to use the terms financial planner and financial adviser and like terms,” she said.