A team of “regulatory experts” is behind the series of training days for brokers which have this week been unrolled across the country, helping the industry to prepare as the first of January rapidly approaches – the date Best Interests Duty (BID) is set to come into force.
From 21 October to 27 October, brokers in every state and territory are able to participate in the digital educational course assembled to help ensure they are BID compliant come the new year. The material was put together by Compliance One, the director of which was formerly with ASIC, and AAMC Training Group.
Finance Brokers Association of Australia (FBAA) managing director Peter White AM has been encouraging brokers to attend, and to avoid downplaying the importance of the new legislation; while many within the industry have expressed a lack of concern given they feel the majority of brokers have already been acting in the best interests of their customers for years, White pointed out that ASIC’s Regulatory Guide 273 – the document clarifying the steps that should be taken by brokers to minimise the risk of non-compliance – is 52 pages long.
“There is a lot to know and much to comply with. Like any regulation, it’s easy to miss the detail and get into trouble,” White said.
The ‘Get BID Ready’ series was put together to help brokers get their heads fully around the compliance guidelines and execute the structural process changes to practices which may be required for some attendees.
“Some within the industry will need to change the way they approach giving credit assistance to consumers and others will need to improve their record keeping,” said White.
“The royal commission has shown us that we can’t be complacent about compliance.”
Upon completion of the course, participants will receive a certificate and the only regulatory-expert-written BID Compliance Pack, as well as three CPD hours.
According to White, the Compliance Pack is invaluable as it was developed by the "leading regulatory and educational experts" in Australia and contains the only content of its kind within the industry, including a BID obligation flow chart, an obligation record keeping tool and a compliance self-assessment tool.
White expressed hope industry involvement would span across groups and organisations as the “important training” is open to all brokers, not just FBAA members.
