The Queensland-based broker qualifications committee will meet again next month to finalise its case for an overhaul of the official industry training framework.

The committee was established in August by Brisbane-based Financial Services School director Val Phinn, and has support from the Council of Queensland Insurance Brokers (CQIB).

It is chaired by CGU National Relationship Manager Lyn Rankin and includes broker representatives from Austbrokers CE McDonald, Ausure, CQIB, Insight, Insurance Aid General Brokers, LMI Group, Regional Insurance Brokers and Wymark Sirius.

Sheila Baker, MD of Melbourne-based national training provider Gold Seal, recently joined. She attended a November 17 meeting in Brisbane for final industry feedback before a business case is prepared for consideration by Innovation & Business Skills Australia (IBSA), which approves the qualifications framework.

One of the committee’s key concerns is that the framework does not adequately reflect the needs of small-medium insurance brokers.

The committee also believes there has been insufficient consultation.

“There are a lot more SME brokers out there than there are corporates – did they have a say?” Ms Phinn told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“At our last meeting I asked if any [members] had ever been consulted on education and everyone answered no.”

Criticism over consultation is levelled at the National Insurance Brokers Association (NIBA) and the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance (ANZIIF), which advise IBSA on course structure.

Last week NIBA announced it will bow out of training and appoint ANZIIF as its preferred supplier of broker education. See other story

Ms Phinn believes it is inappropriate for NIBA to align itself with any training provider, but says the issue of the qualifications framework is a separate matter.

Ms Baker has welcomed the NIBA-ANZIIF deal, but agrees the qualifications framework must be pursued as a separate issue.

“We can’t stand by and do nothing when we believe there are serious shortcomings in broker education,” Ms Baker told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“ANZIIF and NIBA say they have consulted with the industry, but if they have it’s been with limited parts of the industry and certainly not with us. If consulting with industry means the Aons and Marshes of the world, that’s not going to satisfy SME brokers.”

NIBA CEO Dallas Booth stands by the association’s consultation processes. 

“NIBA has always consulted widely on the necessary competencies for broking,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“I’m very comfortable that our submission [to IBSA] reflected wide consultation of brokers. That doesn’t mean we necessarily interview every broker in Queensland.”

He says there is nothing to stop trainers adding course content they feel is necessary for a career in insurance broking.

“The diploma [of insurance] represents a baseline of requirements, but the reality is that different broking businesses will have different skilling levels.

“We can’t include all of these in the training framework, but every registered training organisation has the opportunity to tailor its training to include additional competencies.”

Also see ANALYSIS