The central task of the Royal Commission was to inquire into, and report on, whether any conduct of financial services entities might have amounted to misconduct and whether any conduct, practices, behaviour or business activities by those entities fell below community standards and expectations.

We acknowledge that the findings that have been laid bare may have raised concerns for many people. This is an understandable response given the nature of the findings.

At the core of the findings, the conduct, practices, behaviour and/or businesses activities of the identified financial service entities attributed to their failure in terms of the adherence to one or more of the following fundamental principles:

• Obey the law;
• Do not mislead or deceive;
• Act fairly;
• Provide services that are fit for purpose;
• Deliver services with reasonable care and skill; and
• When acting for another, act in the best interests of that other.

The Royal Commissioner, Kenneth Hayne, summarised it well when he said, “The interests of client, intermediary and provider of a product or service are not only different, they are opposed. An intermediary who seeks to ‘stand in more than one canoe’ cannot. Duty (to client) and (self) interest pull in opposite directions.”

With this in mind, in the recently released final report, The Royal Commissioner, Kenneth Hayne, made 76 recommendations, spread across several areas:

• Banking;
• Financial advice;
• Superannuation;
• Insurance;
• Culture, governance and regulation; and
• Regulators.

The Government also recently released their response to the final report, which outlined that they would be supporting all recommendations – and, in some instances going further.

Gavin Glozier

Your Wealth Hub