Better governance of the financial services industry will be in evidence in five years thanks to the Federal Government’s reform agenda, Financial Services Minister Bill Shorten says.

“The reforms will also give consumers a greater voice and will create a greater financial services industry in the future,” he told the Financial Services Council conference on the Gold Coast last week.

“It will be a challenge to embrace these reforms, but in five years time there will be better governance.”

Mr Shorten admitted change isn’t easy, but the financial services industry “should be rightly proud” of its role in a successful Australian economy.

He praised the industry for achieving overall growth of 2.1% during the past five years of global economic difficulties.   

“We also believe in a strong and efficient regulatory environment to help sustain that growth,” Mr Shorten said.

He says the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) reforms are a key component of strong regulation for the industry and “there is little [in FOFA] that would need to be repealed if there is a change of government”.

“Our reforms will stand the test of time, but there is still more to do in the future.”

Mr Shorten says the reforms will see financial planning come to be regarded by consumers as a profession.