Financial Services Minister, Stephen Jones, has stressed that consumer protection remains his ‘North Star’ and will inform his response when considering measures recommended by the Quality of Advice Review intended to deliver greater affordability and better access to financial advice.
…my North Star in this area is always going to be consumers
The Minister made this observation during a virtual presentation at the 2022 AFA Thrive Conference on the Gold Coast. He told delegates at the event, “I want you to know that my North Star in this area is always going to be consumers and ensuring that consumers are well protected in getting the advice that they need, as and when they need it.”
While he emphasised he would not pre-empt the outcomes of Michelle Levy’s Quality of Advice Review, the Minister re-stated he has provided “…a pretty clear indication of the prism through which I will receive the final recommendations.”
Turning to the issue of the challenges being faced by the advice sector in recruiting new advisers into the profession and stemming the exodus of existing advisers, the Minister noted the current consultation process around the proposed Experience Pathway as one of the initiatives under way to assist in addressing the adviser shortage challenge.
The Minister also acknowledged that if existing regulations are in place in the name of consumer protection – but are not providing the protection they were envisaged to provide – “…then we’ve got to ask ourselves why we’re doing it. Is there a better way to achieve those objectives?”
Minister Jones would not be drawn on the question of the future of risk commissions, where he said he would await the recommendations in the final report of the Quality of Advice Review, due to be submitted on 16 December 2022.
He concluded by reflecting that high net worth clients are probably the favoured market segment in which many advisers are presently operating, due to many in the middle Australian market who are currently being priced out of the advice market – a situation he is seeking to address.
