Welcome to the latest issue of the KHQ Super Alert. There were a handful of brief developments this week, including the House of Representatives agreeing to tweak the first Quality of Advice Review Bill to avoid unintended consequences of the drafting. APRA also released the latest superannuation statistics for the most recently completed quarter.
Parliament – Treasury Laws Amendment (Delivering Better Financial Outcomes and Other Measures) Bill 2024
On 29 May 2024, the House of Representatives agreed to make several amendments to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Delivering Better Financial Outcomes and Other Measures) Bill 2024 following concerns raised by the financial services industry. As referred to in our Super Alert of 5 April 2024, this Bill proposes to introduce the first set of accepted recommendations from the Quality of Advice Review. Amongst other things, the latest amendments relate to clarifying proposed new section 963BB which relates to informed client consent for certain insurance commissions.
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APRA – Quarterly superannuation statistics
On 28 May 2024, APRA published the quarterly superannuation statistics for the quarter ended 31 March 2024. According to APRA, total superannuation assets have grown 11.3% (to over $3.8 trillion) since this time last year.
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ASIC – New professionals search register to be launched
On 28 May 2024, ASIC issued a media release announcing that it will launch a new ‘Professional Registers Search’ by the end of June. This database will allow users to search for various professionals such as AFS licensees and their authorised representatives. This search function is currently part of ASIC Connect. ASIC has explained that the new register ‘provides a more intuitive experience for users, making it easier to access information and make sure the person or company you are dealing with is licensed’.
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Treasury – Consultation on proposed financial institutions supervisory levies
On 28 May 2024, Treasury issued a discussion paper seeking submissions on the ‘proposed financial supervisory levies for the 2024-25 financial year’. The levies are set ‘to recover the operational costs of APRA and other specific costs incurred by certain Commonwealth agencies, including Treasury and the Australian Taxation Office’. The consultation period closes on 11 June 2024.
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