45th Parliament must end traffic-jam of reform and stem costs to consumers

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Ongoing regulatory reform in the financial services sector over the past five years has cost industry $2.75 billion, and will rise to $3 billion once reforms currently before Parliament are implemented, according to new research released at the Financial Services Council (FSC) Leaders Summit in Melbourne yesterday. The research from independent consultancy Tria Partners, commissioned

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21 Jul 2016

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Statement from the FSC on the new Turnbull Ministry

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The Financial Services Council (FSC) welcomes the Turnbull government’s re-appointment of the Hon Scott Morrison as Treasurer, the Hon Kelly O’Dwyer with the new title of the Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, and the Hon Steven Ciobo as Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment. The FSC welcomes the re-appointment of the Treasurer as it

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20 Jul 2016

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FSC statement of priorities

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The Financial Services Council (FSC) has released a statement of policy priorities for the next Parliament. Our statement presents policy positions across financial services and the Australian economy. The financial services sector is the largest in the national economy, contributing to 9.3 per cent of growth and employs more than 450,000 people. This statement has

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18 May 2016

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Royal Commission into financial services unnecessary use of time and resources

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Financial Services Council CEO, Sally Loane has rejected calls by Opposition Leader, Bill Shorten, for a Royal Commission into financial services calling it an unnecessary and inefficient use of time and resources. “The financial services industry, which covers a vast range of businesses, including superannuation funds, life insurance and advice, is highly regulated and has

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11 Apr 2016

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Choice of super fund currently before the parliament

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More consumers are a step closer to being able to choose their superannuation fund under legislation introduced to Parliament last week. Assistant Treasurer, Kelly O’Dwyer, introduced the Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Choice of Fund) Bill 2016, which gives effect to the Financial System Inquiry (FSI) recommendation to remove the closed shop arrangements where enterprise agreements prevent

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21 Mar 2016

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Life Insurance Code of Practice will be strengthened

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The Financial Services Council has taken action to ensure consumer protections in life insurance will be significantly strengthened in light of recent industry issues. At the annual FSC Life Insurance conference in Sydney, yesterday FSC CEO, Sally Loane announced that the Life Insurance Code of Practice, which is currently under development, would be made “even

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17 Mar 2016

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FSC welcomes commitment to enshrine objective of super in legislation

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The Financial Services Council (FSC) welcomes the Government’s commitment to enshrine the objective of superannuation in legislation as recommended by the Financial System Inquiry (FSI). Sally Loane, CEO of the FSC, said: “A clearly defined objective for superannuation, with broad public support, would strengthen confidence in stable, long-term settings for what is our only truly

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11 Mar 2016

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Life Insurance Code of Practice is well underway

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The life insurance industry’s response to the 2015 Trowbridge review of the sector included a commitment by the Financial Services Council (FSC) to having a Life Insurance Code of Practice in place by 1 July 2016. The FSC has been working with its members on the draft Code since August 2015 and continues to develop

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10 Mar 2016

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Statement on Life Insurance from Sally Loane – CEO of the Financial Services Council

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Life insurance plays an important role in helping Australians protect their most valuable assets – their lives and their livelihoods. The industry paid out approximately $5 billion in claims across trauma, total and permanent disability, income protection and life insurance in 2014, taking the total amount paid out in claims in the past eight years

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08 Mar 2016

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Companies still have a long way to go in improving ESG reporting  

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Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing practices have evolved and grown rapidly over the past five years yet 13 per cent of ASX200 companies currently fail to provide meaningful information on sustainability factors and a further 17 per cent provide only basic information. In recognising the value of transparency and disclosure in reporting on companies’

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03 Mar 2016

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