The Australian Securitiesand Investments Commission (ASIC) has sought to clarify the position of employers and organisations with respect to talking to employees about the new choice of superannuation fund regime.
The regulator’s advice comes at a time when employers are receiving widespread warnings about their potential exposure to penalties if they offer specific advice on superannuation without holding a financial services licence.
ASIC’s executive director of consumer protection Greg Tanzer said the regulator understood that with the introduction of choice from July 1, many employers would be asked by their employees to provide information about what super choice is and how employees can nominate a super fund.
He said ASIC intended to ensure that during this process employers avoided providing information to employees, either orally or in some other form, that amounted to financial product advice.
Tanzer said the guidance being provided by ASIC was in the form of frequently asked questions, which cautioned employers against providing financial advice, explains what constitutes financial advice and discusses the type and nature of factual information employers can provide without being licensed, including examples of how employers can provide information on super choice to employees.
“ASIC understands that employers are new to the financial services regime, and will be doing their best to comply with the new obligations,” he said.
Tanzer said that in the early stages of super choice, ASIC would be taking a balanced approach to employers who inadvertently provide superannuation advice without being licensed.
