In this guide
Government targets cheaper financial advice
The Federal Government has introduced the first tranche of legislation designed to ensure Australians have access to quality and affordable financial advice.
“The [Treasury Laws Amendment (Delivering Better Financial Outcomes and Other Measures) Bill 2024] implements reforms which reduce unnecessary red tape that adds to the time and cost of preparing financial advice,” Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones, said in a statement.
The legislation outlines how financial advice fee documents for ongoing fee arrangements are to be consolidated into one simplified document and allows more flexibility in how financial services guides are provided.
“The rules for conflicted remuneration will be simplified by making clear that benefits paid by clients, including from their superannuation accounts, are not conflicted remuneration,” Jones said.
The amendments also make clear in the law that Australians can use their super accounts to pay for financial advice about their super, but it does not expand the scope of fees which can be charged to super accounts.
The Joint Associations Working Group (JAWG) of a coalition of 12 industry and professional bodies – which includes Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ), CPA Australia, the Financial Advice Association of Australia (FAAA) and the Financial Services Council (FSC) – welcomed the Government’s overall efforts to reform financial advice.
However, they called on the government to reduce red tape when it comes to setting up an ongoing adviser arrangement with superannuation trustees to pay for advice.
“Under the proposed legislation, superannuation trustees that allow fee deductions will need to check every piece of advice individually and duplicate valid checks already undertaken by financial advisers and their licensees,” the JAWG said in a statement.
“The Government needs to make urgent changes to the legislation to make advice more accessible and affordable to consumers to provide a way forward that is not unworkable and worse for all than the current situation at law.”
SMSF trustees disqualified
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) disqualified 149 SMSF trustees in the December quarter of 2023, bringing the total number of disqualified trustees in the six months to 31 December 2023 to 374.
ATO disqualifies individuals from acting as a trustee of an SMSF if they don’t comply with the superannuation laws or if they are concerned about their suitability to be a trustee.
Consequences for disqualified trustees include never being allowed to be an SMSF trustee again and their name going on public record. This means details of the disqualification can come up in background checks which can affect a trustee’s personal and professional reputation.
“If you are a trustee who has breached the superannuation laws, we recommend you rectify the contravention as soon as possible. Otherwise, you are putting your retirement savings and fund’s complying status at risk,” the ATO says.
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