The Australian government is implementing a significant crackdown on cold calling and unsolicited approaches related to superannuation accounts, aiming to prevent further collapses of investment funds. The reforms, announced by Financial Services Minister and Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino, will introduce a tougher penalty regime for breaches of anti-hawking laws.
Under the new regulations, unlicensed telemarketers will be prohibited from cold-calling Australians and making unsolicited contact to persuade them to switch super accounts. Financial advisers will also be restricted from proactively contacting prospective clients, with the ability to initiate contact limited to existing clients. Additionally, advisers will face greater accountability for the conduct of third-party lead generators they employ.
"These reforms are designed to disrupt some of the most damaging business models operating in the system today," Mulino stated, according to extracts released by his office. The crackdown is part of the government's response to a pattern of conflicted advice, commissions, and aggressive marketing that allegedly led investors away from mainstream superannuation funds and into schemes that subsequently failed.
The measures follow major collapses such as Shield and First Guardian, where many victims were reportedly lured by lead generators after providing their details through services assessing retirement readiness. Investigations by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) are ongoing into entities like the First Guardian Master Fund and its directors.
ASIC has accused former director David Anderson of allegedly siphoning millions of dollars from the fund into his personal ANZ bank account and moving approximately $274 million offshore after becoming aware of an investigation. Prior to the fund's collapse, Anderson reportedly purchased a $9 million mansion in Melbourne. Another director, Simon Selimaj, had a Lamborghini Urus registered in his name, which liquidators allege was purchased with funds linked to the collapsed scheme. Liquidators have so far recovered only $1.6 million from the $1.2 billion collapse.