The National Insurance Brokers Association (NIBA) is pushing for simpler regulation, saying insurance brokers are spending more time dealing with compliance and less time helping clients.
NIBA said the current framework has become too complex, with overlapping rules adding pressure across the profession. It said the burden is especially difficult for smaller broking firms, which have to manage growing compliance demands alongside client work.
Its concerns are backed by figures from the Insurance Council of Australia, which found the general insurance sector is dealing with more than 30,000 separate obligations across 300 regulatory instruments, enforced by 25 regulators. NIBA said that scale of regulation was not designed with general insurance broking in mind.
The issue also stood out in NIBA’s “Ready or Reacting? Shaping the Future of the Broking Profession” report. The report identified regulation as one of the biggest disruptors likely to affect brokers over the next decade. It found that 86% of brokers expect regulatory demands to significantly affect the profession, but only 62% feel prepared for that shift.
NIBA chief executive Richard Klipin said brokers are not arguing against regulation itself, but against a system that has become harder to work through.
"Insurance brokers support sensible regulation and strong consumer protections, but the system is becoming too complex, too duplicative and too resource intensive. When compliance settings become harder to interpret and more time-consuming to meet, brokers have less time to focus on what matters most, which is helping clients understand risk, secure appropriate cover and navigate claims," Klipin said.
NIBA said the problem is part of a wider national debate about productivity, competitiveness, and how regulation affects professional service businesses. It pointed to a 2025 report from the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which found business compliance costs rose by at least $5.5 billion over the past five financial years.
That report also found smaller businesses are hit harder by red tape, which NIBA said reflects the experience of many broking firms.
The association said calls for reform are also gaining ground at policy level. Regulation was a major topic at the Economic Reform Roundtable held late last year, as policymakers looked at ways to lift productivity and reduce friction across the economy.
NIBA president Nick Cook said those developments have created an opening for practical reform.
"There is now a genuine opportunity to cut through complexity and build a regulatory environment that better supports both consumer protection and professional service delivery," Cook said.
