Linda Evans, NIBA’s Professional Development Executive, says brokers are ready for the FSRA due to start on March 11 this year. NIBA’s education and training department is putting the finishing touches to the education and licensing kit full of detailed information on what intermediaries need to know. 

“There has been a great surge in the number of people wanting to do assessments and it seems that many of the brokers have got a clear grasp of the training requirements.”  Not in everything, however. Ms Evans said  brokers are “only just getting into” compliance issues.

The FSRA has been coming for over five years now, and brokers at times wondered whether it would ever survive the legislative and lobbying processes. Before the legislation was passed last October, brokers and other intermediaries were hesitant. Since it finally passed all the parliamentary processes, there is now a high level of acceptance.

Ms Evans said she and her team insist that those taking on the changes imposed by the FSRA should not go out and spend huge amounts of money speaking to business consultants. “Before speaking to anyone they should have a think about the business and the types of changes needed to adjust to the new legislation,” she said. “ASIC set the standards and they need to find the most cost-effective way to implement these standards.” 

Many brokers were already under way with the training and compliance requirements with NIBA that some will only need to update, she said. “For those who need assistance, NIBA is only a phone call away.”