AFA CEO Richard Klipin said  the AFA is pleased that the Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation, Bill Shorten, who announced the possible re-think at the Financial Services Council (FSC) conference this week, has taken wise counsel on the issue. 

“We have consistently called on Minister Shorten to take a consumer-focussed approach to the Future of Financial Advice reforms and it appears that he is doing that,” Mr Klipin said. “We are now looking forward to seeing more detail from the Government on the commissions issue.”
Mr Klipin said a decision to re-think the issue means there is light at the end of the tunnel for ordinary Australians seeking advice on life insurance within super.

“Those ordinary mums and dads, who would have been priced out of advice by a ban on commissions, can take some encouragement from the fact that the Government is now listening to adviser concerns about the potentially devastating effect of a commissions ban on their clients,” he said.

The AFA believes a ban on commissions within superannuation will impede consumer access to advice, introduce unnecessary red tape which will increase costs for consumers, and ultimately exacerbate Australia’s already grave under-insurance problem.

Mr Klipin said he is pleased that the AFA’s grassroots campaign, which called on AFA members to lobby their local politicians on the negative impact that a ban on commissions and the introduction of opt-in would have on Australians seeking financial advice, is clearly working.

“The AFA and many of our individual members visited with many politicians of all persuasions, including the Member for Robertson, Deb O’Neill and the Member for Oxley, Bernie Ripoll, whom Minister Shorten indicated had been influential in stating the case against the commissions ban,” Mr Klipin said.

Mr Klipin said that the AFA would continue to debate the FOFA proposals, including the contentious issue of opt-in, with all key stakeholders.

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