FoFA

Spectator


On first reading, the Senate committee’s review of the government’s amendments to the Future of Financial Advice legislation seems a mealy-mouthed shambles that mumbles its approval of the plan to throw FoFA under the bus -- and that’s the way it has largely been received. But actually, read it carefully. The majority report from the Coalition senators is telling the Finance Minister, Mathias Cormann, to think again. It is the first half of an opportunity for the minister to stop digging and get out of the hole he’s in. The report is mostly taken up with summarising the opposition to Cormann’s FoFA amendments, with apparent approval. Then there are two quite clear recommendations: 1. "The committee recommends that the government consider closely how these separate obligations work together and whether any further strengthening is required to ensure that a provider cannot circumvent these best interests obligations." 2. "The committee recommends that the government consider the provisions governing conflicted remuneration and redraft them to ensure that there is greater clarity around their implementation." There’s a pointless third one that says the government should give "due consideration to recommendations 1-2" and then pass the bill.