The Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones (main picture) has said that broker commissions are safe. On Tuesday morning, at the National Insurance Brokers (NIBA) Convention in Adelaide, Jones provided delegates with a government policy update.
“The government made a decision on that,” said the Minister in response to a question from Insurance Business asking for his view, given that some industry stakeholders, including the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), continue to call for a ban.
“We accepted the recommendation of the Quality of Advice Review and that's been reflected in what we've done through the legislation that we've moved through the parliament in July this year,” said Jones. “There's been no change to our position.”
IB also asked about the recent ABC-TV Four Corners program that uncovered serious allegations of unethical conduct in the strata industry by strata managers and brokers.
Jones said he looked at the report closely.
“What appeared to me to be the problem there was not so much a problem inside insurance or even in broking but there are other issues that are there,” he said. “I don't want to sweep them aside - that will need to be dealt with - but I don't think the broker commissions was the issue at the heart in that particular problem.”
The NIBA Convention in Adelaide’s Convention Centre finishes today. The event is regarded by insurance brokers as their flagship industry gathering.
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