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Jessica Darnbrough
Mortgage Choice's Michael Russell has labelled the MFAA's diploma requirement "poor timing", as the industry continues to grapple with the NCCP.
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Speaking at an aggregators luncheon hosted by The Adviser in Sydney last week, Mr Russell said many mortgage brokers were still coming to terms with the entirety of their obligations under NCCP and to slap them with another business requirement at this time was "tough".
"At Mortgage Choice, we certainly support and indeed encourage further education. We also support any initiative that is going to improve the overall professionalism of the industry. What I disagree with here is the timing for the mandatory completion of the diploma," Mr Russell said.
"The MFAA, I feel, have failed to comprehend the sheer magnitute of change that brokers have had to contend with post NCCP.
"It's only been 12 months and many are still refining their processes and coming to terms with what is required to be fully compliant. With this in mind, I feel now is not the right time to force them to complete a diploma. Our lenders are not requiring it, nor for that matter is ASIC.
"In almost any other industry, further education beyond what is legally required to practice (in our case an ACL) is encouraged, but left to the discretion of the individual or in some cases the employer. I'm not sure why our major industry association is mandating it so quickly after ASIC elected not too?"
Mr Russell said mortgage brokers should be encouraged to gain some industry experience prior to being asked to complete the diploma so that they can absorb the education better.
Finally, Mr Russell said the diploma requirement would also act as an unnecessary impost at a time when the industry needs to attract new recruits.
But while Mr Russell said the mandatory diploma requirements are being enforced prematurely, Aussie executive chairman John Symond welcomed the MFAA initiative and said it would help increase the overall professionalism of the industry.
"At the end of the day, we are happy to keep raising the bar in this industry," Mr Symond said.
