Treasury launches Standards site as FASEA shut down

Advisers will now be able to access information about the government-mandated Code of Ethics and associated standards on a new site launched by Treasury over the break, as the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority’s own site has been closed down.

On January 1 Treasury took over FASEA’s standard-setting obligations, while ASIC’s Financial Services and Credit Panel took became the industry’s new Single Disciplinary Body.

As the new resource for advisers seeking certainty about industry standards, Treasury released a “Financial Adviser Standards” page housing information for new and existing advisers on the Code of Ethics, the professional year and continuing professional development requirements.

The site is yet to be fully fleshed out in several respects, however. The one-page Code of Ethics guide, for example, that was on the FASEA website has been replaced by a link to the original 2019 legislative instrument relating to the Code.

All press releases from FASEA relating to its work have also been mothballed. Legacy FASEA information can only be accessed via an archive list on the defunct site’s home page.

Before it ceased operations, FASEA left Treasury with it’s last remaining task – ascertaining whether there was interest across the industry in amending Standard 3 of the Code of Ethics, relating to conflicts. After a last minute consultation on the workability of the Standard FASEA released a summary report in December the authority said it was “appropriate” for the relevant minister to interpret the responses and address possible rewording of the Standard in 2022.