THE Financial Services Council (FSC) has welcomed the bipartisan support for the proposed timetable for implementing stronger professional standards and education requirements for financial advisers. 

FSC CEO Sally Loane said the passage of legislation through the Senate is positive news for the financial advice profession and provides needed certainty for all advisers at an unprecedented time for the economy, particularly as demand for advice is surging as a result of the pandemic.  

“Allowing advisers the time to sit the exam and meet the strengthened requirements will continue to build trust in financial services as it contributes to our economic recovery, while encouraging future generations to join the profession,” Ms Loane said. 

"Changes such as these are part of a reform program to help ensure financial advice is affordable and accessible for consumers”. 

The Treasury Laws Amendment (2019 Measures No. 3) Bill 2019 implements changes to existing requirements for financial advisers announced by the Government in August last year. As a result, financial advisers registered prior to January last year will need to complete the FASEA exam by January 2022 and meet FASEA's qualification requirements by January 1, 2026. 

www.fsc.org.au

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THE Electoral Matters Committee has commenced a review into the Electoral Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2020.

The bill, introduced to the Senate by Senator Mathias Cormann, Minister for Finance, would amend the Commonwealth Electoral Act to:

• clarify the relationship between federal and state and territory electoral donation and disclosure laws;
• make technical amendments to address anomalies in entity registration and public election funding rules;
• improve electoral processes, electoral administration, vote issuing procedures and improve workforce flexibility for the Australian Electoral Commission; and
• expand electronically assisted voting methods to Australians working in Antarctica.

The Committee has invited written submissions addressing any or all aspects of the bill.

Prospective submitters are advised that any submission to the Committee’s inquiry must be prepared solely for the inquiry and should not be published prior to being accepted by the Committee.

Submissions are requested by July 3, 2020. Further information about making a submission to a committee inquiry can be found at the following link.

Further information on the inquiry can be obtained from the Committee’s website.

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AS A RESULT of the travel restrictions imposed by COVID-19, the House of Representatives Select Committee on Regional Australia will be extending its inquiry into 2021.

Committee chair, Tony Pasin MP said the committee was planning to travel to regional Australian communities as COVID-19 travel restrictions ease.

"We’re looking forward to the opportunity to further connect with people who live in the regions and to develop our understanding of the challenges and opportunities found across regional communities," Mr Pasin said.

"This extension allows us to further examine how the Black Summer bushfires and COVID-19 have impacted regional areas. We hope to learn more about what our regions need in order to encourage growth, decentralisation and sustainability."

Prior to the introduction of travel restrictions, the Committee conducted site visits and community roundtables in northern Tasmania. Since then the Committee has held 12 virtual public hearings.

Submissions to the inquiry have now been re-opened.

The Committee is offering organisations and individuals who have previously lodged a submission the opportunity to update their submissions in light of recent events.

Both new and updated submissions can be emailed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

To learn more about the inquiry or read submissions received so far, visit aph.gov.au/regionalaustralia.

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THE Northern Australia Committee has commenced an inquiry into the destruction of the Indigenous heritage sites at Juukan Gorge, WA.

The inquiry will examine how the destruction of the caves came about; the processes that failed to protect the site; the impacts on Traditional Owners; and the legislative changes required to prevent such incidents from recurring.

Committee Chair, Warren Entsch, said it was inconceivable that such a valuable heritage site could be destroyed in complete accordance with the law and without any means for Traditional Owners or their representatives to effectively intervene.

"The Committee wants to find out how this was allowed to happen and how we will prevent such occurrences in the future. The States and Territories and the Commonwealth have an absolute obligation to preserve our Indigenous heritage for the benefit of all Australians," Mr Entsch said.

The Committee welcomes submissions from all interested parties. The deadline for submissions is July 31, 2020.

The Committee is due to report on September 30, 2020.

The detailed Terms of Reference can be found on the Committee’s website.

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THE Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) has commenced a statutory review into the ‘declared area’ provisions, listed in sections 119.2 and 119.3 of the Criminal Code Act 1995.

The provisions were introduced as part of the Foreign Fighters Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendments in 2014, and make it an offence for a person to enter, or remain in, declared areas of a foreign country, historically on the basis of regional terrorism activity.

Under a sunset clause, the provisions are due to expire on September 7, 2021. The Committee will review and make recommendations on whether they should be extended.

The Committee requests submissions to the inquiry by Friday August 28, 2020.

Prospective submitters are advised that any submission to the Committee’s inquiry must be prepared solely for the inquiry and should not be published prior to being accepted by the Committee.

Further information about making a submission to a committee inquiry can be found at the following link.

Further information on the inquiry can be obtained from the Committee’s website.

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THE Electoral Matters Committee has commenced a review into the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Ensuring Fair Representation of the Northern Territory) Bill 2020.

The bill, introduced to the Senate by Senator Malarndirri McCarthy and Senator the Hon Don Farrell, would amend the Commonwealth Electoral Act to provide for a minimum of two divisions for the Northern Territory in the House of Representatives.

Analysis from the Parliamentary Library has projected the possibility of the Northern Territory losing one of its two House of Representatives seats before the next federal election, caused by its population falling below the entitlement quota for the second seat.

The Committee invites written submissions addressing any or all aspects of the bill.

Prospective submitters are advised that any submission to the Committee’s inquiry must be prepared solely for the inquiry and should not be published prior to being accepted by the Committee.

Submissions are requested by 10 July 2020. Further information about making a submission to a committee inquiry can be found at the following link.

Further information on the inquiry can be obtained from the Committee’s website.

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THE Queensland Government is being urged to intervene following revelations that Cairns-based shipping provider Sea Swift — purchased last year for $300 million by the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) — was slashing jobs and outsourcing maintenance work to Indonesia.

The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) said it was unacceptable that a major local employer indirectly owned by the Queensland public through QIC was using the current COVID-19 health crisis to make skilled workers forcibly redundant while sending their work overseas.

The union highlighted the case of a Sea Swift vessel which was docked in Batam, Indonesia, last December to undergo a refit. When Australian seafarers arrived to sail it back to Queensland, they refused to depart port, describing it as being uninhabitable and not safe to go to sea.

MUA Queensland assistant branch secretary Paul Gallagher said workers at the company were demanding action from the Queensland Government and QIC.

“The hands-off approach by the Queensland Government and QIC while their wholly-owned business is slashing jobs and outsourcing work to third world countries is simply unacceptable,” Mr Gallagher said.

“We need urgent leadership from QIC and the State Government to ensure this business owned by Queensland taxpayers acts in an ethical and socially responsible manner.

“The fact is that just months after QIC bought Sea Swift, the company sent a vessel to Indonesia to undergo a refit — work that should have been done locally at the Tropical Reef Shipyard in Cairns.

“Now, under the cover of the COVID-19 health crisis, Sea Swift has slashed 15 percent of the skilled workers in their Cairns engineering department.”

Mr Gallagher said Sea Swift executives had led an anti-union and anti-worker culture at the business, which was linked to the recent outsourcing and job cuts.

“Sea Swift’s anti-union and anti-worker culture has been clearly demonstrated by their refusal for five years to allow officials their basic legal right to board vessels and speak to union members,” he said.

“The company has also spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees tying up their industrial agreement in a complicated legal stalemate in the Fair Work Commission. The result is that they continue to operate under what is known as a ‘zombie’ enterprise agreement: one that is basically dead, has very little chance of getting legitimised, but still lives on.

“Five years ago, when the MUA fought for and won the right to have the agreement measured by the Seagoing Industry Award 2010, the company agreed to negotiate a new agreement, but since then they have refused to finalise it.

“Their aim throughout these years of dispute has been to achieve an outcome where they can pay local workers below the seagoing award," Mr Gallagher said.

“Sea Swift also refused to support a union initiative to create secure jobs for First Nations people in the far north through the inclusion of an Indigenous employment clause.

“With Queensland taxpayers investing millions into this business through the QIC, they would rightly expect this business to support local jobs and treat workers with respect, which is why QIC and the State Government must take immediate action.”

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THE Foreign Affairs and Aid Sub-Committee of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade will tomorrow hold its first roundtable public hearing for the inquiry into strengthening Australia’s relationships with the Pacific Islands.

On June 18 the Committee will hear from seven experts with backgrounds in development assistance in the Pacific, including Caritas Australia, UnitingWorld, RESULTS International, UN-PRAC Project and the WASH Reference Group. A second roundtable hearing, with seven prominent academics will follow on June 19.

The Sub-Committee was tasked to inquire into how Australia could meet current and emerging opportunities and challenges facing the Pacific island region.

Sub-Committee chair Dave Sharma said, “Australia’s relationship with its Pacific neighbours is fundamentally important to Australia’s future. Our fates are intertwined.

“We have a long history of working constructively with our neighbours, including during times of adversity and challenge. Australia will be especially keen to help Pacific island states manage the health impacts of COVID-19 and recover from the economic impacts, and I expect this will be a large focus of the inquiry.”

Public hearing details:

Date: Thursday 18 June, 2020
Time: 8am to 9.30am
Location: Committee Room 1R3, Parliament House, Canberra

Date: Friday 19 June, 2020
Time: 8.30am to 10.30am
Location: Committee Room 1R4, Parliament House, Canberra

The hearings will be audio streamed live at aph.gov.au/live

The Sub-Committee has welcomed 38 submissions to date, acknowledging that many submissions have been thoughtfully prepared under adverse conditions. The Committee is still keen to hear views from within Pacific island countries, individuals who have participated in labour mobility schemes, and those who have settled permanently in Australia, amongst others.

Further details about the inquiry, including terms of reference, contributing a submission and details of public hearings, can be obtained from the Committee’s website.

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