Wong Pansy: Financial Advisers Amendment Bill (No 2) Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Amendment Bill — Third Readings 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Wong Pansy: Financial Advisers Amendment Bill (No 2) Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Amendment Bill — Third Readings 
[Sitting date: 22 June 2010. Volume:664;Page:11980. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon PANSY WONG (Minister for Ethnic Affairs) 
on behalf of the  
Minister of Commerce 
: I move  
That the Financial Advisers Amendment Bill (No 2) and the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Amendment Bill be now read a third time 
. I acknowledge the cooperation of all parties in the House. We all want to ensure that confidence is restored in our financial market and this is a step towards that. This legislation makes a number of amendments to the Financial Advisers Act and the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act which were passed in 2008 by the previous Government to increase confidence in New Zealand’s financial system. Under the regime financial advisers have to meet minimum standards of professionalism and have to make informative disclosure to clients while being subject to Securities Commission oversight. Furthermore all financial service providers including financial advisers are required to belong to an approved dispute resolution scheme if they offer services to the public. 
The legislation maintains the fundamental framework of registered advisers authorised advisers and qualifying financial entities established by the two primary Acts. However these amendment bills reduce compliance costs and focus the regime on the core area of concern: personalised financial advice to retail clients. Compliance costs are reduced under these bills by clarifying key terms and requirements. Exemption and regulation-making powers are expanded and the qualifying financial entity model is amended to account for the realities of business operations. The Financial Advisers Act is also amended to establish a practical regime for the regulation of money handling by financial brokers. 
These changes respond to concerns raised in the past 2 years about the practicalities of making the regime work as we approach full implementation. Regulatory efficiency is vitally important but as I have consistently stated this regime is about restoring investor and consumer confidence. To this end the bill expands the powers of the Securities Commission so that it can more effectively perform its duties in the specific ambit of personalised services to retail clients. 
I thank the Commerce Committee officials and the wider industry for engaging so conscientiously on this legislation. The next step is implementation and I expect the industry to engage constructively with regulators to ensure that the regime is fully in place on time. I also expect officials to complete the regulations needed to finalise the remaining details in a timely fashion. 
As previously announced financial service providers will need to be registered under the Financial Service Providers Act and become a member of an approved dispute resolution scheme by 1 December of this year. Financial advisers however have until 31 March next year to be registered allowing those seeking approval from the Securities Commission for authorisation status to obtain the necessary approval by 1 July next year. The Government recognises that it needs to rebuild mum and dad investors’ trust in capital markets which has been severely dented by the global recession and finance company collapses. We want everyday investors to feel more confident about putting their savings into capital markets through understanding the basics of investment getting advice they can trust and making informed choices. This regime is an important part of the wide-ranging reform agenda for financial sector regulation which is crucial to economic growth and the well-being of New Zealanders. I commend this bill to the House.