Product rationalisation: A step closer to legislation
Expert panel final meeting tomorrow
By
Victoria Papandrea Mon 11 Aug 2008
The product rationalisation advisory panel is close to taking its proposals to the Government, Treasury told IFSA conference delegates.
Following a lengthy consultation process, the product rationalisation expert panel is almost ready to submit its proposals to the Government, Treasury general manager - corporations and financial services division, Geoff Miller said.
"The expert panel is almost at a stage now of going back to Government and getting some in-principle agreements for a way forward," he said.
"Unfortunately I can't go into great detail of what we have come to so far before we tell the Minister [Sherry]."
The expert panel will hold its final meeting tomorrow, Miller said.
"This will be the last one before we put this to Government and say we want you to commit to an in-principle agreement to go forward," he said.
"If we get that commitment, that should happen in a fairly short time frame and then it's a matter of where we go from there."
It is likely a period of public consultation of proposals would follow, before moving into the legislative processes, Miller said.
One of the issues the expert panel has worked through is who will approve the product rationalisation of legacy products.
"It could be the industry itself or the issuers, it could be APRA or ASIC or it could also be the courts," he said.
"The courts are our last resort and there are other solutions that we have come up with in the expert panel discussions."
The involvement of experts and independent parties, such as actuarial reports, would be necessary in the process, he said.
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