ASIC will be granted stronger regulatory power in the superannuation sector following the passing of the first bill recommendation from the Hayne royal commission.

The Financial Sector Reform (Hayne Royal Commission Response) Bill 2020 was passed on Thursday, implementing 21 of the 76 recommendations that came out of the inquiry. 

The new bill, due to be signed off by the Governor-General, has expanded ASIC’s role as a regulator in superannuation with the aim to protect consumers.

The Treasury department described the changes as “another major step forward in completing the implementation of the Hayne royal commission”. 

Consumer advocacy group Super Consumers Australia’s director, Xavier O’Halloran, said the changes will help protect fund members from super misconduct.

“Stronger scrutiny of the conduct of superannuation funds and their impact on individual members has been a long time coming,” he said.

Introduced by the federal government in response to key recommendations of the banking royal commission, the laws include a ban on the unsolicited selling, or hawking, of superannuation products.

Mr O’Halloran commented that the hawking ban will be key for consumers. 

“Being sold into a poor quality super fund can have a devastating impact on financial security in retirement. With the proposed introduction of account stapling, it becomes more important than ever that people aren’t sold into dud products,” Mr O’Halloran said.

A second bill implementing royal commission recommendations was introduced before Parliament on Wednesday. It has included a number of reforms for the advice sector, including a new annual renewal obligation.