Intensive lobbying by associations like the National Insurance Brokers Association and other intermediary representatives are beginning to be heard in Canberra. Just over 11 months after the Financial Services Reform Act (FSRA) came into operation, Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer Chris Pearce says he is considering refining licensees’ obligations to prevent “information overload for consumers”.

Last week he told the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s annual summer school he is “aware of strongly held views in a few quarters that the requirements have resulted in such lengthy and complex documents that consumers are actually worse off than if they received no information at all”.

Mr Pearce says he is working on “a series of proposed refinements” to assist financial services companies with their disclosure requirements. He says while the Federal Government has received a lot of information about the costs and paperwork involved in disclosure, it won’t necessarily take on board all suggestions.

“The benefits of disclosure must be weighed against its costs to the industry, which in many cases are ultimately borne by consumers,” he said. “It is important to ensure that costs are not so high as to price some consumers out of the market for particular financial services.”

Mr Pearce says it’s also important that the legislation doesn’t prevent more players entering the industry.

He says the Treasury will soon begin a consultation process in a bid to let consumer and industry players express their points of view.