Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Dastyari for that question. The answer to the final part of that question is, no. Of course, in accordance with the improvements to our financial advice laws that we implemented from 1 July 2014, we are keeping all of the important consumer protections that matter. We are keeping the requirement for advisers to act in the best interest of their clients and we are keeping the ban on conflicted remuneration.

ASIC has been pointing out very clearly why it is so important that ASIC conducts that sort of work. There is no doubt that historically we have had issues in this space in Australia that needed to be addressed. But guess what? Not even the strictest, most stringent, toughest regulatory arrangements are going to help in lifting professional, ethical and educational standards. We need the industry itself to provide leadership in relation to this.