Two years on from Kenneth Hayne’s weighty report into Australia’s financial services sector, its recommendations no longer appear to be a priority for the Government – despite Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s commitment to action all 76 recommendations.
The Guardian has completed an analysis showing that 44 have yet to be implemented while five have been abandoned. Three, which involve undertaking reviews of the changes, are not yet happening.
The implementation of some recommendations was put on hold last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But a number of key recommendations – including that laws requiring banks to lend responsibly be kept and mortgage brokers be banned from receiving trailing commissions – have been dumped.
A number of recommendations around financial advice and superannuation have also seen little progress.
The Treasurer told The Guardian that despite the pandemic, “the Morrison Government has made substantial progress in implementing recommendations arising from the Hayne Royal Commission”.
“In December alone, the government introduced and passed legislation addressing more than 20 recommendations and introduced new legislation seeking to implement a further four recommendations,” he said.
“The Government remains focused on completing implementation of the remaining recommendations of the Hayne Royal Commission.”
But it is a solemn reminder that the findings of the Aged Care Royal Commission will also depend on Government action.
