12 April 2021

Appointment – Part-time Chairperson, Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority

The Hon Jane Hume, Minister for Superannuation, Financial Services and the Digital Economy, Minister for Women’s Economic Security, has announced that Catherine Walter AM will continue in her role as the part-time Chairperson of the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA).

FASEA was established in 2017 through the Corporations Act 2001 (the Act) to set the education, training and ethical standards of financial advisers in Australia.

On 9 December 2020, the Government announced the standard-making functions of FASEA would be moved into Treasury and the remaining elements of FASEA’s role, including administering the adviser examination, will be incorporated into the Financial Services and Credit Panel within the Australian Securities and Investment Commission.

Mrs Walter has been reappointed from 11 April 2021, and as Chairperson of FASEA will continue to work with the Board consulting on and refining the Standards for Financial Advisers that remain under FASEA’s responsibility until the organisation is wound up.

Mrs Walter was first appointed as the Chairperson of FASEA in 2017. She is also a Director of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s Payments System Board; the Chair of Melbourne Genomics Health Alliance; a Director of the Australian Foundation Investment Company; and, Trustee of the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust. She was previously Managing Partner of the Melbourne office of Clayton Utz; Commissioner of the City of Melbourne; a member of the Financial Reporting Council; and, has served on the boards of the ASX, National Australia Bank, Orica and the Victorian Funds Management Corporation.