Outgoing Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) President Jim Taggart has called on the Federal Government to act fairly on commissions.

He says the industry superannuation funds’ campaign against commissions has unfairly tarnished the reputation of advisers by inferring that advisers who earn commissions are conflicted.

“In fact, what the AFA’s consumer research clearly illustrated was that consumers who use advisers highly value the financial advice they receive, regardless of how they pay for it,” Dr Taggart said.

“The industry funds’ odious and expensive advertising campaign, with its fixation on commissions, is clouding the real issues surrounding Australia’s superannuation system and masking the real needs of consumers.”

Dr Taggart called on new Financial Services Minister Bill Shorten to recognise and acknowledge the contribution advisers make to the population’s financial wellbeing.

“We are calling on Mr Shorten to live up to his portfolio title… actively engaging, encouraging and supporting the industry so that it can properly advise consumers,” he said.

“There have been a lot of armchair experts, a lot of lofty rhetoric and a lot of vested interests trying to hijack the agenda, but at the end of the day, introducing so-called reforms that ultimately force the price of advice up and make access to advice more difficult will only hurt consumers.”