Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) President Deborah Kent has rejected a member’s bid to call an extraordinary general meeting to change the organisation’s constitution.

An email from member Mark Dunsford calling for the meeting has been distributed by the Life Insurance Consumer Group, a spokesman for the group told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

Details of the proposed constitutional changes have not yet been disclosed. “At this stage we are seeing what the response is to the proposal,” he said.

Under AFA by-laws an extraordinary general meeting can be requested by a group of members with at least 5% of votes at the meeting, or 100 members entitled to vote at such an event.

Ms Kent says any changes to the AFA constitution would not stop the proposed Life Insurance Framework legislation from re-entering Parliament. The proposed constitutional amendment would also stymie the AFA’s power to take a position on any particular piece of policy.

“The proposed change would mean the AFA board would not be able to form any policy position or negotiate any policy position with government, other associations or consumer interest groups without calling a general meeting and conducting a member vote.

“AFA members need representation at the decision-makers’ tables. This change to the constitution would reduce and possibly remove the AFA’s relevance as a voice.”

This latest move, amid advisers’ ongoing hostility to the framework, is fuelled by the belief the AFA sold out by joining the Trowbridge committee’s review of the industry.

The review was initiated by the Financial Services Council with the AFA, which partly funded the exercise. The Financial Planning Association refused to join.

The battle has settled on adviser commissions, which cost the life insurance industry about $3 billion a year.

“The proposed constitutional change appears to have been motivated by the adviser’s perception the AFA did not adequately consult members on the framework,” Ms Kent said.

“This perception is misguided, because the AFA consulted extensively with members on the issue.”