The FPA just lodged a new compliance scheme with ASIC

The FPA has lodged an expression of interest with ASIC to enforce a new compliance scheme for members and non-members.

The separate legal entity, Code Monitoring Australia, would be administered by the FPA and would be responsible for enforcement of a compliance scheme for the entire financial planning profession.

What will it entail?

FPA chief executive Dante De Gori explained: “Code monitoring benefits all Australians seeking financial advice because it will give consumers greater confidence and trust in the advice they receive. We need to protect everyday Australians, and raise the standards of our collective financial services profession.”

“We believe that financial planners and their clients can operate under a professional scheme rather than a more expensive commercial alternative,” De Gori continued, “which may not bring the depth of understanding of the various business models in the marketplace.”

The regulatory framework

This follows on from ASIC announcing licensees will need to ensure all authorised representatives must be covered by an ASIC-approved compliance scheme.

ASIC said it will approve a compliance scheme under several conditions. First, the regulator needs to be assured that compliance with the code “will be appropriately monitored and enforced,” and that the relevant monitoring body “has sufficient resources and expertise to appropriately monitor and enforce compliance with the code.”

This will be determined through a range of factors, including the financial, technological and human resources of the monitoring body; the number of advisers covered by the scheme; consultation procedures; professes for data management and reporting; whether functions of the monitoring body are outsourced; and existing staff competency as well as training procedures.

What do I need to do?

 At this stage, it remains to be seen which compliance schemes will be approved by the regulator. We will keep you updated as the changes take effect.


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