An independent cost–benefit study should be commissioned by Treasury or ASIC to verify claims made by the Financial Services Council (FSC) in its licensing green paper, according to financial services legal compliance firm Assured Support.  

The green paper, which was prepared in conjunction with CoreData Research and released in late July, recommended introducing an adviser skills and performance registry, an accreditation framework for third-party compliance service providers and a tiered licensing framework. 

But in its response to the paper, Assured Report says that while it shares the FSC’s commitment to reform to improve advice, and that the green paper makes a “constructive contribution to an important debate”, it disagrees with aspects of its framing and conclusions.