Financial Services Council CEO John Brogden has appealed to the new Labor Party leadership to delay the implementation of the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reforms by 12 months.
Brogden believes much of the industry is struggling to comply with the legislation, which comes into effect on Monday.
While reiterating the FSC’s support for the FoFA reforms in principle, he called on Kevin Rudd, Chris Bowen and Bill Shorten to delay the start date for FoFA and Stronger Super to July 1 2014, citing both the scale of the new rules and cost of compliance he estimated at in excess of $1.5 billion.
Brogden (right) said comments made last night by Rudd that he would work “hand-in-hand” with the business community opened the door for the FSC proposal.
“We request they pause for a moment to consider the opportunity to extend the commencement date of both FoFA and Stronger Super to July 1 2014,” he told a Deloitte Leadership lunch today.
“Those of us in the trenches of regulation know there is an extraordinarily high risk of non-compliance by the industry with FoFA and Stronger Super in full because of the July 1 start date.
“These reforms are wider and deeper than any reform ever seen in financial services in Australia.
“We need more time for consumers and the industry to make sure they are implemented properly.”
Reporting by Amal Awad
