The Parliamentary Joint Committee (PJC) is on track to deliver its Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) reform findings to the federal government.
PJC chairman Bernie Ripoll told InvestorDaily the evidence provided through industry submissions and public hearings is enough to return recommendations by the scheduled 29 February deadline.
“Absolutely there is enough information . but as well as that there has been enough information over the past more than two years to adequately inform government on the direction forward,” Ripoll said.
“I also think that whilst the inquiry is welcome and I think is beneficial, the fact that we’ve got legislation before the parliament in the form of some bills means that the government is committed to delivering on the reforms that we’ve already put on the table.”
All of the evidence put forward to the committee reaffirms the necessity for the “professionalisation” of the financial services sector, which Ripoll believes is what the FOFA bills achieve.
“We will report on the 29th. I’m pretty confident that will take place,” he said.
“In terms of the work of the committee, that is our work done and it’s really up to the government to deal with the report as it sees fit.”
Ripoll has presided over the review of the FOFA bills, along with fellow parliamentary representatives, since October last year.
In that time, there has been only one surprise, he said.
“My only surprise [is] that after so much consultation and so much information on the table that there are still some that misinterpret or misunderstand the legislation or what the legislation is about,” he said.
“I think some people are just over-reading it and digging so deep, they’ve actually missed what it actually says.”
While Ripoll acknowledged the proposed reform changes will evoke emotional responses, he said people need to take a step back.
“There always is [emotion] on all of these matters but I think if people just take a step back, read the bill that’s on the table again with fresh eyes and not try to over-read it, triple-guess it and read things that just aren’t there,” he said.
The PJC began its review of the FOFA bills in October last year following a request by the Senate.
