Labor’s financial services report card = 30/100 | Australian Markets

With the Government now in caretaker mode and with Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones, having ended his Parliamentary profession it’s price contemplating what the Albanese Government has delivered to financial services over the previous three years.

To achieve this, Financial Newswire reviewed all of Jones’ announcement over his three years in workplace and examined what have been the problems he sought to deal with and what, if something, he achieved.

And what is obvious is that Jones began off declaring good intentions, together with reviewing the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) funding model declaring that “the Albanese Government is committed to ensuring that ASIC, and the frameworks it uses, are sustainable, in step with the times, and appropriate for today’s financial sector”.

The end result? The industry funding model remained largely unchanged.

Jones additionally introduced session on financial adviser skilled requirements, noting that the Government had made an election dedication to take away tertiary schooling for financial advisers who had handed the examination, had 10 years’ expertise and a clean file.

The end result? Largely delivered.

When it got here to at least one of the legacies of the previous Coalition Government – the Your Future, Your Super efficiency check, Jones introduced a session course of to take a look at “any unintended consequences and implementation issues” noting that “the second annual performance test for MySuper products which revealed that 96 per cent of MySuper members are in a well-performing fund”.

The end result? Some minor methodology tweaks.

Jones then moved to “advancing” the suggestions of the Hayne Royal Commission and mentioned the Government had finalised laws to implement “recommendations to extend the Banking Executive Accountability Regime to all APRA-regulated entities and to provide for joint administration between APRA and ASIC”

Perhaps more importantly, the identical announcement mentioned the Government could be “delivering on its election commitment to establish a Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR) to ensure Australians continue to have trust and confidence in the financial system external dispute resolution framework”.

The end result? An industry funding model for the CSLR which is inappropriately centered on advisers and unsustainable.

In early 2023, Jones handled one other legacy difficulty from the previous Coalition Government, the release of the Quality of Advice Review chaired by Michelle Levy. A number of months later he mentioned the Government “will adopt the bulk of the QAR recommendations. He announced three streams of activity,  the first of which involved removing onerous red tape, the second of which promised to expand access to retirement income advice and the third of which was intended to “explore new channels for advice”.

The end result? Two years’ later the Government managed to ship solely the primary stream. The second stream of the now Delivering Better Financial Outcomes (DBFO) laws continues to be but to go the Parliament and there’s barely any dialogue of the third stream.

Responding to considerations concerning the quantity of Managed Investment Schemes sitting on the coronary heart of product failures, Jones in August 2023 launched a session paper inspecting the regulatory framework for MISs and whether or not it remained match for function.

Tied up in that review was the important thing query of whether or not the wholesale shopper thresholds stay applicable.

The end result? Little or no change, with MISs nonetheless not half of funding the CSLR regime.

In October, 2023, the Government introduced the release of draft laws which, in keeping with a Budget dedication, would scale back the tax concessionality of superannuation balances over $3 million. Not so prominently revealed within the minister’s assertion was that the laws additionally entailed taxing unrealised capital beneficial properties.

The end result? The laws turned caught within the Senate for the very purpose that it entailed the taxation of unrealised capital beneficial properties – one thing which was rejected by the Federal Opposition and proved unpalatable to a important cohort of the Senate cross-bench.

In November 2023, Jones was half of a Government announcement above legislating to enshrine the target of superannuation which was considered many because the creation of a bulwark towards future Governments repeating the Morrison Government’s Covid-19 early entry scheme.

The end result? Delivered.

In September 2024 the Government introduced it could be shifting to legislate for payday superannuation in a transfer designed to turn into efficient from 1 July, subsequent 12 months.

The Government’s transfer mirrored constant strain from the industry superannuation funds sector.

The end result? Set to be delivered.

In January, this 12 months, Jones additionally introduced Government plans to introduce obligatory and enforceable services requirements for all giant superannuation funds regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).

The Government’s announcement got here within the wake of revelations that some giant funds had fallen short on handling death benefit claims leading to regulatory motion and fines.

The end result? Still within the development stage.

One of Jones’ final main bulletins has been a Treasury Review of the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR).

The end result? The election intervened.

Jones’ final main announcement was the broad define of the second tranche of the DBFO laws.

The end result? The election intervened