Affordability and accessibility should be treated as regulatory outcomes to avoid unnecessary compliance layers adding to costs for consumers, the National Insurance Brokers Association says. 

NIBA says affordability, accessibility and complexity have been key considerations in developing the revised code of practice, which the board is now finalising, but the same discipline is missing from the wider regulatory conversation. 

“On every proposed obligation, we asked what it would cost, and whether a client would be better off for it,” NIBA CEO Richard Klipin said. “Where the evidence showed a new standard protects clients, the draft lifts the bar above the law. Where it would have added a duplicate layer that clients ultimately fund, it does not.” 

The Insurance Council of Australia in late 2025 calculated annual compliance costs across the general insurance industry cost consumers $2.5 to $3.5 billion per year. 

NIBA says there are multiple layers of compliance in addition to the law, including licensing, code and individual firm requirements.  

President Nick Cook says clients come to brokers because risk is becoming more complex, but when regulatory complexity continues to grow, the cost of providing professional advice increases with it. 

“Recent inquiries into natural disasters, insurer conduct and business failures have all pointed to the same lesson: people achieve better outcomes when they have access to trusted professional advice,” he said. “If we want that advice to remain available, affordable and accessible, those objectives must be considered whenever new regulation is designed."

Code Review Committee Chair Di Phelan says across many professions, reforms introduced to improve outcomes can, when layered over time, add complexity and cost. 

“The key lesson is not that reform should be avoided, but that careful consideration should be given to its cumulative impact,” Ms Phelan said. “A balanced and measured approach can help ensure that important protections are achieved without compromising accessibility for those who rely on our professional services.” 

The Insurance Brokers Code Compliance Committee and the Australian Financial Complaints Authority last week lodged late submissions with a parliamentary inquiry into small business insurance criticising NIBA for not widening remuneration disclosure requirements in the draft code.