The Federal Government says regulation on financial services licensees being required to have professional indemnity (PI) insurance is expected by July 1.

National Insurance Brokers Association consultant John Hanks told Sunrise Exchange News the announcement reinforces what the Government has announced previously. “There’s no new information in this, but it does suggest it’s an election year,” he said.

Bodies regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) will be exempt from the requirement. The regulation draft was released for public consultation in November last year.

The Government may be reacting to Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd’s comments attacking it for being inactive on regulation.

When releasing the Financial Sector Legislation Amendment (Simplifying Regulation and Review) Bill last week, Assistant Treasurer Peter Dutton defended the Government’s record on regulation.

“Claims by Kevin Rudd in his under-whelming speech that the Government has done nothing on cutting red tape are clearly wrong,” he said. “It’s another example of where Kevin Rudd doesn’t have a grasp of the detail and can’t be bothered to check.

“If he talked with industry, instead of just promising to, then he would have known that industry has been working with the Government on these reforms for a number of months.”