The Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority has issued a guide (FG002 Code of Ethics Guidance) to assist stakeholders in understanding, interpreting and applying its code, which comes into effect on 1 January 2020.
According to the standards body, the code is a living document and subject to change, as required, and is principles-based and intended to apply to a wide range of situations.
It pointed out that while the guide’s purpose is to aid understanding of the requirements of the code, all of the formal obligations lie in the language of the code and not the guidance document, which is illustrative rather than conclusive in its guidance.
“As with all professions, advisers are ultimately responsible for exercising judgement in the application of the code,” FASEA said.
It added that it will host a series of consultation briefing sessions with a number of educational, professional, consumer and industry stakeholders, with the purpose to provide opportunity for consultation on the practical elements of the code.
In 2017, the Parliament amended the Corporations Act 2001 to raise the education, training and ethical standards of licensed financial advisers in Australia.
Under the act, FASEA was declared the standards body and charged with responsibility for implementing the legislative amendments. This included making the sole, compulsory code of ethics that is applicable to the conduct of all advisers who provide financial services to retail clients.
