Financial industry wants longer govt terms

The Financial Services Council has suggested extending federal government terms to four or five years to reduce short-term political pressures holding up crucial industry reform.

FSC chief executive Sally Loane says the current electoral system, with three-year terms, encourages a constant overhaul of ministries, wasting time that could be better spent on urgently needed tax and superannuation legislation.

Constant back and forth on reviews and reforms has already cost $2.75 billion over the past five years, she said, the equivalent of $105 per superannuation account.

"The transactional cost of political change and constant industry review, re-review and reform in a sector that offers so much potential for immediate further growth for consumers and for the economy has been enormous," Ms Loane said in a speech at the Financial Services Council Leaders Summit.

"If we are really serious about Australia becoming a financial services centre, and if we are really serious about delivering the best products and services to Australian consumers, then we need to get on with implementing and finalising the legislation that has bipartisan support."

Ms Loane said urgent priorities for the re-elected coalition include the stalled Life Insurance Reform Bill, tax reform, and increasing choice and competition in the superannuation industry.

There have been 14 major reviews or inquiries - including David Murray's 2014 Financial Systems Inquiry - since 2009, Ms Loane said.

Constant political change, combined with the need for recent governments to solicit support from minor parties, meant the findings of those reviews sometimes came to nothing.

"There has been very little progress in implementing the recommendations of many of these reviews," Ms Loane said.

"This is not acceptable, and is to the detriment of consumers and to the industry's prospects of becoming a leading financial services centre."