MFAA advocacy update – February 2024

Our advocacy

The last three months have proved very busy with advocacy activity, including submissions, meetings with Government and the Opposition, regulators and even included a trip to Canberra to appear before a senate inquiry. In addition to meeting Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor, other highlights include:

1. A final visit of 2023 to Canberra that culminated in our CEO, Anja Pannek’s appearance at the Senate Inquiry into Bank Branch Closures in Regional and Rural Australia, where the focus was on the value brokers provide to their communities where there is limited or no bank branches. You can download a transcript of what we said, if you’re interested.
2. Recognition by the Federal Government of the MFAA’s efforts to reinvigorate the ACCC Home Loan Price Inquiry Report, with the announcement by the Treasurer in December that the Government will provide a response to the recommendations made in the report.
3. Research by the MFAA shows consumers continue to face challenges in switching their home loan to obtain a better deal, and we will continue to advocate for implementation of the recommendations that remove friction consumers are experiencing from the process. The MFAA will shortly publish a whitepaper on its work – so make sure you look out for it!
4. Advocating for a seamless transition to the Consumer Data Right in response to Government’s proposed regulation of screen scraping technology. The mortgage broking industry relies on products that leverage screen scraping technology, such as Bankstatements.com and Cashdeck, to meet responsible lending and other regulatory requirements, and the proposed regulation signals a clear opportunity for industry to accelerate its take-up of CDR. Read our submission.

We publish all our submissions so you can read them at any time.

Compliance and Regulatory changes

As we start the new year, it’s timely to be reminded that the mandatory and ongoing obligation to report internal dispute resolution (IDR) data to ASIC is in its final phase, with all Australian Credit License (ACL) holders now required to lodge reports. All ACLs are required to lodge their IDR data report for the period July – December 2023 by 29 February 2024. Find out more.

MFAA members You can also watch a recording of our webinar ‘Keeping compliant in 2024 for top tips and key themes’ on the MFAA Learning Hub for insights on what you can do to remain compliant this year.

What we’re working on

1. We’re reviewing ASIC’s drafted proposed amendments to their Reference Checking Protocol in light of the passing of legislation in September last year that updated the National Consumer Credit Protection Act to now allow aggregators who are not licensees to give and receive references for brokers moving to and from them.
2. Our commitment to cybersecurity and protecting both consumers and businesses against scams is why we are also contributing to Treasury’s consultation on the development of mandatory industry codes. This focus area continues to evolve, and we welcome members to write in to tell us about their concerns and experiences with scams and/or cybersecurity initiatives. You can contact us at ua.moc.aafm@ycilop
3. Payroll tax remains a core focus of the Association’s advocacy activities with a firm focus on ensuring gross broker commissions are not subject to payroll tax. As we await the decision of the LMG case and with Finsure also recently announcing litigation against Revenue NSW, the MFAA has continued to engage with the NSW Government on a long-term legislative solution.

We’d love to hear from you:

The Policy & Advocacy team can be reached on ua.moc.aafm@ycilop.