❓ The Minister outlines the new Finance Brokers Code of Conduct designed to protect consumers, particularly the elderly, from unscrupulous brokers, addressing issues identified in the 1990s and an ASIC inquiry. The code includes increased fines and licence suspension/cancellation.
AnsweredQoN 99Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
FINANCE BROKERS CODE OF CONDUCT
Can the minister inform the house of recent measures to provide greater protection to people who use licensed finance brokers? Ms S.M. McHALE
Can the minister inform the house of recent measures to provide greater protection to people who use licensed finance brokers? Ms S.M. McHALE
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for his question. When I announced the $30 million compensation package for victims of the finance brokers scandal, I was very much affected and taken by the very sad stories of mostly elderly victims of the finance broking scandal. Members will remember those very sad stories. They will remember the unscrupulous behaviour of some finance brokers and, of course, ought to remember the inaction of the previous government. I am pleased to inform the house of the finalisation of the new finance brokers code of conduct. This is the chief mechanism for regulating the day-to-day conduct of finance brokers in the industry. It represents a major improvement in consumer protection in Western Australia and will come into force in June this year. Leading up to that date, we will be informing and contacting every one of the 2 300 finance brokers that exist in this state, advising them of the impending changes and encouraging them to participate in a series of seminars so that the industry is aware of the code. Essentially, the code is the result of extensive consultation. It addresses the problems and the lessons that were learnt from the 1990s and also the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s inquiry into the industry. I will name just a few of those problems: borrowers did not receive adequate information about a broker’s services and their rights of redress; brokers were making recommendations where a conflict of interest may have existed, and that conflict was not disclosed; and brokers were making recommendations without fully considering the needs and circumstances of the borrowers. Those problems and others are addressed in the code of conduct. Brokers will need to demonstrate that they have made every reasonable inquiry about the needs and circumstances of their clients and genuinely and reasonably believe that the loan they have arranged is appropriate for the borrower. This code of conduct, which increases the fines and ensures that licences can be suspended or cancelled, strengthens the framework in which finance brokers have to operate. We believe this code highlights this government’s work to ensure that victims, particularly the elderly people in the community, are not subject to the sort of disgraceful behaviour that existed in the 1990s under the watch of the previous Liberal government.
Ms S.M. McHALE replied : I thank the member for his question. When I announced the $30 million compensation package for victims of the finance brokers scandal, I was very much affected and taken by the very sad stories of mostly elderly victims of the finance broking scandal. Members will remember those very sad stories. They will remember the unscrupulous behaviour of some finance brokers and, of course, ought to remember the inaction of the previous government. I am pleased to inform the house of the finalisation of the new finance brokers code of conduct. This is the chief mechanism for regulating the day-to-day conduct of finance brokers in the industry. It represents a major improvement in consumer protection in Western Australia and will come into force in June this year. Leading up to that date, we will be informing and contacting every one of the 2 300 finance brokers that exist in this state, advising them of the impending changes and encouraging them to participate in a series of seminars so that the industry is aware of the code. Essentially, the code is the result of extensive consultation. It addresses the problems and the lessons that were learnt from the 1990s and also the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s inquiry into the industry. I will name just a few of those problems: borrowers did not receive adequate information about a broker’s services and their rights of redress; brokers were making recommendations where a conflict of interest may have existed, and that conflict was not disclosed; and brokers were making recommendations without fully considering the needs and circumstances of the borrowers. Those problems and others are addressed in the code of conduct. Brokers will need to demonstrate that they have made every reasonable inquiry about the needs and circumstances of their clients and genuinely and reasonably believe that the loan they have arranged is appropriate for the borrower. This code of conduct, which increases the fines and ensures that licences can be suspended or cancelled, strengthens the framework in which finance brokers have to operate. We believe this code highlights this government’s work to ensure that victims, particularly the elderly people in the community, are not subject to the sort of disgraceful behaviour that existed in the 1990s under the watch of the previous Liberal government.
I thank the member for his question. When I announced the $30 million compensation package for victims of the finance brokers scandal, I was very much affected and taken by the very sad stories of mostly elderly victims of the finance broking scandal. Members will remember those very sad stories. They will remember the unscrupulous behaviour of some finance brokers and, of course, ought to remember the inaction of the previous government. I am pleased to inform the house of the finalisation of the new finance brokers code of conduct. This is the chief mechanism for regulating the day-to-day conduct of finance brokers in the industry. It represents a major improvement in consumer protection in Western Australia and will come into force in June this year. Leading up to that date, we will be informing and contacting every one of the 2 300 finance brokers that exist in this state, advising them of the impending changes and encouraging them to participate in a series of seminars so that the industry is aware of the code. Essentially, the code is the result of extensive consultation. It addresses the problems and the lessons that were learnt from the 1990s and also the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s inquiry into the industry. I will name just a few of those problems: borrowers did not receive adequate information about a broker’s services and their rights of redress; brokers were making recommendations where a conflict of interest may have existed, and that conflict was not disclosed; and brokers were making recommendations without fully considering the needs and circumstances of the borrowers. Those problems and others are addressed in the code of conduct. Brokers will need to demonstrate that they have made every reasonable inquiry about the needs and circumstances of their clients and genuinely and reasonably believe that the loan they have arranged is appropriate for the borrower. This code of conduct, which increases the fines and ensures that licences can be suspended or cancelled, strengthens the framework in which finance brokers have to operate. We believe this code highlights this government’s work to ensure that victims, particularly the elderly people in the community, are not subject to the sort of disgraceful behaviour that existed in the 1990s under the watch of the previous Liberal government.
Essentially, the code is the result of extensive consultation. It addresses the problems and the lessons that were learnt from the 1990s and also the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s inquiry into the industry. I will name just a few of those problems: borrowers did not receive adequate information about a broker’s services and their rights of redress; brokers were making recommendations where a conflict of interest may have existed, and that conflict was not disclosed; and brokers were making recommendations without fully considering the needs and circumstances of the borrowers. Those problems and others are addressed in the code of conduct. Brokers will need to demonstrate that they have made every reasonable inquiry about the needs and circumstances of their clients and genuinely and reasonably believe that the loan they have arranged is appropriate for the borrower. This code of conduct, which increases the fines and ensures that licences can be suspended or cancelled, strengthens the framework in which finance brokers have to operate. We believe this code highlights this government’s work to ensure that victims, particularly the elderly people in the community, are not subject to the sort of disgraceful behaviour that existed in the 1990s under the watch of the previous Liberal government.
Ms S.M. McHALE replied : I thank the member for his question. When I announced the $30 million compensation package for victims of the finance brokers scandal, I was very much affected and taken by the very sad stories of mostly elderly victims of the finance broking scandal. Members will remember those very sad stories. They will remember the unscrupulous behaviour of some finance brokers and, of course, ought to remember the inaction of the previous government. I am pleased to inform the house of the finalisation of the new finance brokers code of conduct. This is the chief mechanism for regulating the day-to-day conduct of finance brokers in the industry. It represents a major improvement in consumer protection in Western Australia and will come into force in June this year. Leading up to that date, we will be informing and contacting every one of the 2 300 finance brokers that exist in this state, advising them of the impending changes and encouraging them to participate in a series of seminars so that the industry is aware of the code. Essentially, the code is the result of extensive consultation. It addresses the problems and the lessons that were learnt from the 1990s and also the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s inquiry into the industry. I will name just a few of those problems: borrowers did not receive adequate information about a broker’s services and their rights of redress; brokers were making recommendations where a conflict of interest may have existed, and that conflict was not disclosed; and brokers were making recommendations without fully considering the needs and circumstances of the borrowers. Those problems and others are addressed in the code of conduct. Brokers will need to demonstrate that they have made every reasonable inquiry about the needs and circumstances of their clients and genuinely and reasonably believe that the loan they have arranged is appropriate for the borrower. This code of conduct, which increases the fines and ensures that licences can be suspended or cancelled, strengthens the framework in which finance brokers have to operate. We believe this code highlights this government’s work to ensure that victims, particularly the elderly people in the community, are not subject to the sort of disgraceful behaviour that existed in the 1990s under the watch of the previous Liberal government.
I thank the member for his question. When I announced the $30 million compensation package for victims of the finance brokers scandal, I was very much affected and taken by the very sad stories of mostly elderly victims of the finance broking scandal. Members will remember those very sad stories. They will remember the unscrupulous behaviour of some finance brokers and, of course, ought to remember the inaction of the previous government. I am pleased to inform the house of the finalisation of the new finance brokers code of conduct. This is the chief mechanism for regulating the day-to-day conduct of finance brokers in the industry. It represents a major improvement in consumer protection in Western Australia and will come into force in June this year. Leading up to that date, we will be informing and contacting every one of the 2 300 finance brokers that exist in this state, advising them of the impending changes and encouraging them to participate in a series of seminars so that the industry is aware of the code. Essentially, the code is the result of extensive consultation. It addresses the problems and the lessons that were learnt from the 1990s and also the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s inquiry into the industry. I will name just a few of those problems: borrowers did not receive adequate information about a broker’s services and their rights of redress; brokers were making recommendations where a conflict of interest may have existed, and that conflict was not disclosed; and brokers were making recommendations without fully considering the needs and circumstances of the borrowers. Those problems and others are addressed in the code of conduct. Brokers will need to demonstrate that they have made every reasonable inquiry about the needs and circumstances of their clients and genuinely and reasonably believe that the loan they have arranged is appropriate for the borrower. This code of conduct, which increases the fines and ensures that licences can be suspended or cancelled, strengthens the framework in which finance brokers have to operate. We believe this code highlights this government’s work to ensure that victims, particularly the elderly people in the community, are not subject to the sort of disgraceful behaviour that existed in the 1990s under the watch of the previous Liberal government.
Essentially, the code is the result of extensive consultation. It addresses the problems and the lessons that were learnt from the 1990s and also the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s inquiry into the industry. I will name just a few of those problems: borrowers did not receive adequate information about a broker’s services and their rights of redress; brokers were making recommendations where a conflict of interest may have existed, and that conflict was not disclosed; and brokers were making recommendations without fully considering the needs and circumstances of the borrowers. Those problems and others are addressed in the code of conduct. Brokers will need to demonstrate that they have made every reasonable inquiry about the needs and circumstances of their clients and genuinely and reasonably believe that the loan they have arranged is appropriate for the borrower. This code of conduct, which increases the fines and ensures that licences can be suspended or cancelled, strengthens the framework in which finance brokers have to operate. We believe this code highlights this government’s work to ensure that victims, particularly the elderly people in the community, are not subject to the sort of disgraceful behaviour that existed in the 1990s under the watch of the previous Liberal government.
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