Industry microscope on regulation
22 May 2007
The Financial Industry Council of Australia, which has the Insurance Council of Australia among its members, has called for a more consistent and clear focus…
Life Insurance
Fund managers welcome foreign tax cut plan
15 May 2007
Labor’s plan to slash tax rates on foreign investment has been supported by the financial services industry’s funds body…
$36 million bid for Finsia
08 May 2007
The Financial Services Institute of Australasia has reached an agreement to sell its education business for $36 million…
Financial services behind tech eight-ball
08 May 2007
Australia’s financial services sector is falling behind in the technology stakes, with unanswered emails and a failure to engage customers online among the industry’s main flaws, according to a new study…
Underinsurance high in life ranks
01 May 2007
Most people in their mid-30s still have inadequate life insurance cover, despite a surge in sales and with affordability at an all-time high…
FPA brings back a reworked ‘Dazza’
01 May 2007
Despite conceding last year’s original “value of advice” campaign featuring a character named Dazza did not attract as much attention as hoped, the FPA has launched another phase…
Life premium totals rise
24 April 2007
Australian life insurance premiums for the December quarter last year stood at $9.4 billion, representing an increase of 1.3% on the prior quarter and a 2.7% increase on…
More Aussies invest in life insurance
24 April 2007
Private research has backed up the bullish official results for the life insurance market, with actuaries Plan for Life saying Australians are increasingly investing in personal insurance…
APRA appeals to go straight to court
17 April 2007
The Federal Government has decided to introduce a court-based review process for individuals disqualified by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority…
New regulatory office, and a review
17 April 2007
Just when you thought the Federal Government might be losing interest in regulating everything that moves in the financial services sector comes news that Canberra has set up…
Red tape reduction continues
17 April 2007
Federal Treasurer Peter Costello says the Government has made substantial progress over the past nine months in reducing the regulatory burden on business…
Complaints procedures go international
17 April 2007
The Financial Industry Complaints Service is preparing analysis for members on the introduction of international standards on complaints-handling…
Financial planning standard released
17 April 2007
In a bid for more harmony in financial planning benchmarks, Standards Australia has released for public comment AS4559 2007, a new draft standard for personal financial planning…
Court decision impacts complaints service
11 April 2007
The Financial Industry Complaints Service has had to narrow its workload after a Federal Court observation on its monetary limits…
FPA examines compensation salvation
11 April 2007
The Financial Planning Association has hosted a “think tank” to discuss how investors could be compensated after investment schemes fail…
IFSA launches updated code
11 April 2007
IFSA CEO Richard Gilbert has described the association’s new code of conduct as the “industry equivalent of the 10 commandments…”
FPA probes Westpoint advice
03 April 2007
Nearly 20 dealer groups are under investigation by the Financial Planning Association for allegedly giving clients bad advice involving the Westpoint property group…
Drastic shortage of financial advisers
03 April 2007
Unprecedented demand for financial advice has led to a huge increase in workload for financial advisers, according to the Investment and Financial Services Association…
Advisory council announced
03 April 2007
The insurance industry is well represented on the Federal Government’s Financial Sector Advisory Council following the re-appointment of several members last week…
FPA invites educational input
27 March 2007
The Financial Planning Association aims to bolster the educational content of its national conference in November this year by encouraging presenters to approach the association…