Senator the Hon Mathias Cormann

The Government remains committed to implementing the improvements to Future of Financial Advice laws that we took to the last election as soon as possible.

These election commitments are reflected in the legislation currently before the House of Representatives, which will continue through the normal parliamentary process.

Now that the legislation has been referred to the Senate Economics Committee and to enable the Government to consult in good faith with all relevant stakeholders on the Future of Financial Advice Regulations, I have decided to pause implementation of these Regulations during that consultation.

My opinion piece in the Australian Financial Review today outlines precisely our commitments to the Future of Financial Advice reforms and we remain determined to achieve these changes.

In particular, it points to our commitment to restore the balance between appropriate levels of consumer protection and access to affordable high quality financial advice.

Furthermore I again confirmed that the Government is committed to the retention of the Best Interest Duty and that we do not intend to reintroduce conflicted remuneration or sales commissions for financial advisers.