Industry funds support adequacy of RG 146

A survey of industry superannuation funds and their service providers has revealed that most believe RG 146 is sufficient qualification for those staff providing general advice. 

And Industry Super Australia (ISA) and the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) have used the survey findings to argue to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) that while they favour degree qualifications for financial planners providing a full advice service, they believe RG 146 is sufficient for those staff providing general advice. 

In a joint submission to ASIC on its consultation paper on Licensing: Training of financial product advisers, ISA and the AIST have suggested that a degree qualification is not necessary for most of the advice provided via superannuation funds. 

Further, the two organisations have expressed their opposition to some additional requirements with respect to the provision of general advice. 

“The bulk of advice-based interactions with members occurs in the general advice space and includes a very wide range of services to members,” the submission said while citing a survey conducted of member funds. 

“Our survey received responses from a mixture of medium- to -large industry funds, and service providers to some of those funds. The entities in this survey employ staff who provide factual information, general and personal financial product advice and in some cases, staff who provide advice related support services. General advice tasks performed by the entities surveyed are estimated to reach in excess of 1.5 million members each year.”  

The submission said that although there was a reasonable level of support for the introduction of a degree requirement for advisers who provided personal advice, “none of the respondents supported the proposal to increase the minimum requirement for providers of general advice to a bachelor level qualification”.  

 “On top of this, it is of considerable interest what expectations the survey revealed of firms hiring new advisers, or representatives providing an advice-related support service, with organisations currently happy with RG 146 (as a standalone qualification) as the entry minimum for general advisers, with no organisation currently requesting a degree qualification for representatives providing a financial product advice service,” it said.