Advocacy update: Government inquiries driven by our efforts

Advocating for fair and balanced regulation that minimise unnecessary costs for small businesses is a key pillar of our advocacy efforts to support our members.

These sustained efforts have been successful – with two inquiries announced as a direct result of our activity.

Our ongoing advocacy – pushing for changes to NSW Payroll Tax to make it fairer and fit-for-purpose for the mortgage broking industry – has been instrumental in the decision to establish an NSW parliamentary inquiry into payroll tax – the first of its kind.

This is an important step, and the inquiry’s outcome will no doubt influence how other states and territories look at payroll tax for our industry.

Our submission to the NSW Payroll Tax Inquiry was made early this month, and we will keep members updated.

At a federal level, we have consistently advocated for fairness with the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR), and this has led to Treasury’s recent announcement of a review of the scheme.

We want to ensure that policymakers understand the impact of regulatory costs on our members and work towards practical solutions that support a sustainable and thriving industry.

We are currently working on the submission related to the review of the CSLR. If you have any comments or experiences to share, please send it to policy@mfaa.com.au before COB 27 Feb 2025.

Setting the policy direction for 2025

In its third year, our annual Pre-Federal Budget Submission for 2025-26 outlines the key priorities for the association for the year ahead.

We anchor our advocacy activity on five key pillars – ensuring fit-for-purpose regulation; appropriate regulatory costs; a sustainable and thriving industry; strengthening our industry; and innovating for the future.

In our 2025-2026 Pre-Budget Submission, we focus on four priorities spread across 16 recommendations. These are aimed at strengthening industry resilience, supporting small businesses, and ensuring a competitive and fair lending market for Australian consumers and small businesses alike.

Our submission covers key issues such as open banking, the loan discharge process, a dynamic serviceability buffer model to support first home buyers, and enhanced cybersecurity for your business and your clients.

Read our Pre-Budget Submission here.

Other matters

After shining a light on the service and support mortgage brokers provide to their homeowner clients in our submission on the Inquiry into the Financial Regulatory Framework and Home Ownership, we were pleased to see many of our recommendations appear in the Inquiry report.

The announcement by the Treasurer earlier this month in relation to how HELP debt is treated in serviceability calculations means more first-time buyers will be able to get into home ownership sooner. We will represent our members during consultation with ASIC and APRA, which we expect to start soon.

While Australia’s Scam Prevention Framework is now active, there is more work to be done. Mandatory industry codes of conduct will be introduced to set out specific obligations for each of the banking, telecommunication and digital platforms sectors.

Scams are always evolving, so vigilance is critical. Brokers are on the front line, helping Australians to stay protected.

We encourage our members to continue educating their customers about staying safe from scams. This includes:

• not clicking on suspicious emails or links;
• using strong passwords and multi-factor authentication; and
• setting up automatic updates.

Submissions we are working on

•Post-implementation review of the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort
(CSLR)

•ASIC draft Regulatory Guide relating to buy now pay later (BNPL) contracts

Recent submissions we have made

•Small and medium-sized banks review

•Review of the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman

•2025-2026 Pre-Budget Submission

•CDR Rules – Non-bank lending and banking data scope

•Senate review of the Scams Prevention Framework Bill

•Security-related obligations under the electronic conveyancing regulatory framework (Australian Registrars National Electronic Conveyancing Council – ARNECC discussion paper)

•Senate inquiry into wealth management companies [including CSLR]

To keep up to date with your advocacy activities, read our submissions.