The Federal Parliamentary Labor Party is being pressed to more closely examine the Government’s legislative moves to establish a one-stop-shop approach to external dispute resolution (EDR) under the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).
The Credit and Investments Ombudsman (CIO) has confirmed that it has been lobbying to have the legislation referred to a Parliamentary committee before it is referred to the Parliament for debate.
The CIO’s move has come amid continuing concern within the superannuation industry about the inclusion of the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal (SCT) within the AFCA structure, even though key industry stakeholders were virtually united in their opposition to such a move.
The call for the matter to be referred to a Parliamentary Committee also come just days after the Minister for Revenue and Financial Services, Kelly O’Dwyer announced the make-up of the expert panel to oversee the transition of the existing EDR schemes into the new umbrella body.
That expert panel includes the current chair of the SCT, Helen Davis and the current chief executive of the Financial Ombudsman Services (FOS), Shane Tregellis.
While the FOS and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) have strongly supported the creation of the AFCA, the CIO has strongly opposed such a move arguing that it is substantially unwarranted and is likely to prove more costly to the industry.
The Future Fund’s CIO Ben Samild has announced his resignation, with his deputy to assume the role of interim CIO.
The fund has unveiled reforms to streamline death benefit payments, cut processing times, and reduce complexity.
A ratings firm has placed more prominence on governance in its fund ratings, highlighting that it’s not just about how much money a fund makes today, but whether the people running it are trustworthy, disciplined, and able to deliver for members in the future.
AMP has reached an agreement in principle to settle a landmark class action over fees charged to members of its superannuation funds, with $120 million earmarked for affected members.