The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) supports plans to strengthen Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) banning powers.

Under proposals from a taskforce, the regulator would have power to ban a person from managing a financial services business or performing other specific functions.

“Enhancing ASIC’s banning power in this way is likely to improve corporate conduct, management accountability and culture by removing certain individuals from the financial services industry and preventing them from managing a financial services organisation,” ICA says in a submission.

It suggests the management definition should focus on functions critical to an organisation’s conduct and culture.

But ICA opposes giving ASIC power to ban people from performing any financial services organisation function, suggesting this goes beyond the policy intent.

Bans will apply when someone is judged not to be “a fit and proper person”, replacing a “good fame and character” test.

The taskforce also proposes extending bans to officers, partners or trustees who have more than once been involved in a financial services or credit licensee that failed to comply with an Australian Financial Complaints Authority determination

ICA says ASIC should consider a range of regulatory and law enforcement decisions and reports, and ensure administrative errors, or similar, do not trigger bans.

The National Insurance Brokers Association also “generally supports” the taskforce proposals, while noting banning powers should be subject to procedural fairness and full rights to administrative review.

It would prefer expanded grounds for banning do not include a breach of Section 180 of the Corporations Act, which would require a more formal legal approach.