CA ANZ unveils policy wishlist as election looms

Ahead of the upcoming federal election, CA ANZ has compiled a list of “election asks” to help achieve better financial security, productivity and regulatory certainty.

The peak accounting body proposed seven practical suggestions to be adopted by the next parliament, covering multiple areas, from making it easier for businesses to crack down on money laundering to making financial advice more accessible to 11.8 million Australians.

The seven proposals being pushed by CA ANZ include enabling all Australians to access financial advice, making the instant asset write-off permanent, scrapping the annual super cap, a crackdown on money laundering, addressing the skills shortage, climate disclosures and digital reporting.

CA ANZ CEO Ainslie van Onselen said the upcoming election was an opportunity to commit to sensible policies that improved the lives of Australians and eased pressure on small businesses.

“Our message to political parties and parliamentarians is clear: Australians need help, and we have some practical and implementable policy asks for you,” she said.

“From scrapping the annual superannuation cap to improving women’s financial security to freeing up small business cash-flow – these are pragmatic steps that can make a big difference.”

CA ANZ said the government needed to enable all Australians to access financial advice by allowing qualified accountants to provide it.

The body suggested this could be achieved by amending the Corporations Regulations 2001 to allow a qualified accountant, who is a member of one of the major accounting bodies, to give financial advice.

This was proposed based on the lack of financial advisers, which led to a complex void in which 11.8 million Australians sought advice.

“Chartered Accountants are highly trained and skilled professionals who can solve this issue, but the regulatory environment needs urgent reform to allow CA ANZ members in public practice to support their clients with their everyday financial challenges,” CA ANZ said.

Another notable proposal noted in the policy included making it easier to crack down on money laundering with free ASIC checks, by amending the Corporations (Fees) Act 2001 to remove all fees to search ASIC registers and associated documents.

The body suggested this based on the fact businesses and individuals were charged a fee to access company information held on ASIC registers, which was free in other jurisdictions such as the UK, New Zealand and Singapore.

“The introduction of 100,000 professional service providers and real estate entities to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Regime is estimated to cost $13.9 billion over 10 years.”

“This will include accessing company registers to identify and verify companies, directors and office holders. Many of these 100,000 entities are small businesses and the additional cost is likely to be passed onto the small businesses and individuals using their services.”

According to the peak accounting body, the government would also need to refocus the migration system on skills to tackle skills shortages, reduce high education costs and invest in accounting, financial literacy, digital, AI and sustainability skills, training and technology needed to build Australia’s workforce.

In addition to the multiple policy proposals, van Onselen reiterated the body’s call for tax reform, calling on the next government to remove the overreliance on personal income tax.

“Australia’s tax system has been broken for too long, penalising hardworking and aspirational Australians by slogging them with huge income taxes,” she said.

“We look forward to engaging with both major parties and the crossbenchers on these important issues, and we stand ready to work with the next government and parliament to ensure they’re on the policy agenda.”