SMSF Association Submission – Joint Associations Working Group Submission to Treasury Quality of Advice Review – Issues Paper

An ongoing Joint Associations Working Group (JAWG), comprising representatives of key financial services industry and financial advice professional associations, prepared this submission for the Quality of Advice Review (Review). The Associations involved are:

1. Association of Financial Advisers (AFA)
2. Boutique Financial Planning Principals Association Inc. (BFP)
3. Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ)
4. CPA Australia
5. Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA)
6. Financial Services Council (FSC)
7. Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA)
8. Institute of Public Accountants (IPA)
9. Licensee Leadership Forum (LLF)
10. Self Managed Super Fund Association (SMSFA)
11. Stockbrokers and Investment Advisers Association (SIAA)
12. The Advisers Association Ltd (TAA)

The 12 Associations agree and support the following key themes as the priorities for improving the accessibility, affordability and quality of financial advice for consumers:

1. Consumer Focused – putting Consumer, Customer and Client needs first.
2. Recognition of Professionalism – recognising financial advice as a profession and financial advisers as professionals.
3. Regulatory Certainty – ensuring the regulation and enforcement of the law are consistent.
4. Open Data and Innovation – standardising and sharing data to remove duplication and reduce rework.
5. Sustainability – ensuring the sustainability of the financial advice profession and practices, with a focus on continuous innovation and improvement.