Financial advisers and licensees who have made submissions on life insurance to the Scrutiny of Financial Advice (SOFA) inquiry may not have their voices heard, as the Senate Standing Committee on Economics overseeing the inquiry \u2018has ceased to exist\u2019.<\/p>\n
The Committee, which was due to report on 31 August 2016, nearly two years to the day after it received a referral from the Senate for an inquiry, formally ended when the Federal election was called on 9 May.<\/p>\n
The SOFA webpage, hosted within the Parliament of Australia website, stated information about the inquiry and submissions would remain online but ‘…at the dissolution of the Senate and the House of Representatives on 9 May 2016 for a general election on 2 July 2016, the parliamentary committees of the 44th Parliament ceased to exist.’<\/p>\n
\u201cTherefore inquiries that were not completed have lapsed and submissions cannot be received\u201d, the site added stating the committees for the 45th Parliament would be added in due course.<\/p>\n
However, while the Committee will be unable to submit its report in the current Parliament it may be tabled in the new Parliament after the election if a successor committee is appointed and recommends the inquiry be resurrected by the new Parliament and that recommendation is approved by the Senate.<\/p>\n
At 9 May the inquiry had received a total of 256 submissions, of which 118 came from individuals, 20 from industry associations and 16 from banks and insurers while 78 submissions were confidential or had names withheld. The inquiry has also held nine public hearings during 2015 and released an interim report asking for an extension of time.<\/p>\n
The length of the inquiry and the number of submissions was due to the complex nature of the subject matter, according to the inquiry\u2019s webpage.<\/p>\n
The webpage stated the initial report was due on the first sitting day of July 2015 after first being referred to the Committee on 4 September\u00a02014. This deadline was extended in March 2015 to 1 February 2016, at which time a further extension to 31 August 2016 was given.<\/p>\n
On 2 March 2016 advisers, licensees and insurers were forced to move quickly to make submissions when additional terms of reference covering the life insurance industry were added with submissions for this part of the inquiry closing only six\u00a0weeks later on 15 April 2016. During that time 102 \u00a0submissions were received by the inquiry.<\/p>\n