The woman leading the government’s review of financial advice is sticking to her plan for radical reform, saying “modest changes” will not succeed in expanding access to financial advice.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers or Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones are expected to release Ms Levy’s final report on the quality and accessibility of financial advice in coming days, following a year-long and heated review process.
But Ms Levy, a partner at law firm Allens appointed by the previous Coalition government to lead the review, said more wholesale reform of the laws governing advice will be required to make advice cheaper and boost consumer access – a goal she says was shared by the majority of stakeholders to her public consultation.
She rejected suggestions that some of the less controversial proposals of her draft report in August – such as reducing the size of mandatory paperwork for financial advisers including statements of advice or removing the so-called safe-harbour steps to demonstrate compliance with the duty to act in clients’ best interests – would be enough alone to achieve the public policy goal outlined in the review’s terms of references.
The floated elimination of the duty, and possible re-entry of the big banks to the wealth management sector they fled after the damning Hayne royal commission, has drawn ire from consumer advocates, whoBut the superannuation industry – including a number of powerful trade union-linked industry funds – backed Ms Levy’s initial proposals, expressing desire to expand the advice services they can provide to their millions of members if the stringent regulations were wound back.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
‘A lot of the demons seem a little cheesy now’: Sarah Michelle Gellar on Buffy, her burnout and her comebackShaken by the death of her sitcom co-star Robin Williams, the actor put her career on hold for the best part of a decade. Now she’s back battling supernatural beings in Wolf Pack – but will she ever revive the Slayer?
Read more »
Treasurer’s essay is ‘completely aligned’ with the Hawke-Keating legacyCommunications Minister Michelle Rowland says Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ essay is “completely aligned” with the Hawke-Keating legacy. “The fact is that we had a period of stable economics but a reformist government in the Hawke ad Keating years,” she told Sky News Australia. “I think the Treasurer is making a very clear statement here that our role as a Labor government is to be fiscally responsible, good financial management, and, in the end, this is about governing for all Australians.”
Read more »
Coroner finds Indigenous woman's death in custody was preventableBy Melissa Meehan in MelbourneVeronica Nelson&x27;s mother Aunty Donna Nelson sat in the front row of the court wiping away tears.
Read more »
Stuart MacGill swore at a woman he's accused of intimidating, court hearsThe former Australian test cricketer is accused of stalking and verbally intimidating a woman in Sydney last February. 9News
Read more »
One woman’s forgotten story reveals a dirty truth about Africa’s written historiesRegina Twala was an influential writer and political activist of the 50s and 60s. Yet while European men gained acclaim from her work, her name was almost erased from memory
Read more »
Healthcare provider to face criminal charges after Aboriginal woman's jail deathThe healthcare provider for a Victorian jail where an Aboriginal woman died will be referred to prosecutors for criminal charges. 9News
Read more »