Removal of the exemption for funeral expenses policies

In response to recommendation 4.2 of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, the Government has released for exposure:

• draft regulations to remove the exemption for funeral expenses policies from the definition of financial products for the purposes of the Corporations Act 2001; and
• draft legislation to ensure that it is clear that the consumer protection provisions of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 apply to funeral expenses policies.  

The draft regulations and legislation seek to enhance the accountability of funeral expenses policy providers by ensuring they act efficiently, honestly and fairly and abide by the financial service licence requirements in the Corporations Act. Providers of funeral expenses policies will also be subject to anti-hawking obligations.