The Financial Services Council (FSC) has called for further consultation on advice fee consents and independence disclosures as regulatory timetables are disrupted by the coronavirus and advisers face increasing pressures.

The FSC says the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic since release of a consultation paper will require the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to defer finalising a proposed legislative instrument, and there is a need for further discussions on the proposals.

“Consultation on the development of the legislative instrument should be extended and its commencement delayed until the COVID-19 pandemic ceases,” it says in a submission.

The FSC says a widely dispersed advice workforce across providers and super funds has made feedback to ASIC more difficult in the consultation period.

“Given the unprecedented economic uncertainty faced by many Australians, the primary focus of advice businesses and trustees is, and must be, on customers and members,” it says.

The delay to royal commission legislation until at least August will postpone the start of the ASIC changes, currently proposed for July 1.

The FSC’s submission on the proposed measures says ASIC’s approach should prevent penalties for technical minor defects on disclosure statements and renewal notices that have no impact on consumers.

It says obligations for product providers, trustees and advisers around written consent need to be clarified and harmonised to reduce costs and complexity for clients, super funds and advisers.

And it calls on ASIC to explore options wherever possible for harmonising fee disclosure statements and annual opt-in requirements, and this should form the basis of extended consultation.