On 21 May 2020, the Treasurer, the Hon Josh Frydenberg MP, announced the Australian Government will extend the ban on conflicted remuneration to listed investment companies and trusts (LICs), commencing 1 July 2020. This followed a public consultation on the current stamping fee exemption conducted by the Treasury in early 2020.
The extension of the ban to LICs is intended to address risks associated with the potential mis-selling of these products to retail consumers, improve competitive neutrality and provide long term certainty in the funds management industry.
As this measure was likely to have major impacts on affected businesses and individuals, a Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) was required to be prepared, but was not completed and assessed by the Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) prior to the final decision. Consequently, the OBPR has assessed the RIS process for the proposal as insufficient with the Australian Government’s Regulatory Impact Analysis requirements.
Accordingly, a post-implementation review is required to be completed within two years of its implementation.
The Treasury has subsequently prepared a RIS which is published here for transparency purposes only. The OBPR has not assessed this RIS.