FSLAB expected to pass by early 2019

With 18 Parliamentary sitting days left this year, the Financial Services Legislation Amendment Bill is hovering near the bottom of the order paper.

Wednesday, October 24th 2018, 6:00AM

The bill is waiting to go through the committee stage with the whole house and its third reading before receiving royal asset.

It has been claimed the intention is for it to pass by Christmas.

But it is now at number 24 on the order paper, behind the Commerce Amendment Bill, Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement Amendment Bill, Child Poverty Reduction Bill and Employment Relations Amendment Bill, among others.

For its second reading, the bill was languishing near the bottom of the order paper but then leapfrogged ahead.

Katrina Shanks, chief executive of Financial Advice New Zealand, said it was still likely FSLAB would become law before Christmas.

She said, if the draft conde of conduct out for consultation did not need to be significantly redrafted, that would encourage FSLAB to be promoted.

If other parts of the regime, such as disclosure rules and the licensing process were also ready to go, that would also help it get through, she said.

“Committee stage and third ready is not too much to get through. It’s supported by all the parties. It could quite easily go through as long as nothing urgent gets on the order paper.”

A spokeswoman for Commerce Minister Kris Faafoi said, while it was intended for the new regime to be enacted as soon as possible in order for New Zealanders to get the best possible financial advice, "we are balancing that with an adequate time for robust consultation on supporting regulations and the code of conduct".

"We are also aware of the need for the sector to have time to prepare for the new regime," she said. "Finally, there are competing priorities for consideration in the House.All of these factors affect scheduling. The bill is awaiting committee of the whole house stage and is likely to be passed by early 2019."

Tags: FSLAB