A consumer group says the National Insurance Brokers Association is taking too long to progress its code review and should urgently prioritise publication of a key report to dispel growing transparency concerns.

However, NIBA CEO Richard Klipin told insuranceNEWS.com.au reports in other media referring to a missed January 2026 target to publish the new code are misleading, and that “getting it right is more important than chasing a date”.

As insuranceNEWS.com.au has reported, independent code reviewer Phil Khoury provided NIBA with a draft report more than six weeks ago, but that report has not yet been published by either party.

Financial Rights Legal Centre CEO Karen Cox says this is “not a good look” and has criticised NIBA’s reluctance to provide a published submission on the direction of the code.

The association says its board will soon approve a response to the Khoury report, which will be sent back to the reviewer, who will then publish a final version.

Further consultation will then be carried out with NIBA members.

“The insurance broker code review was announced almost a year ago and stakeholders made their submissions over six months ago, so claims the industry now needs more time to consult are simply bewildering,” Ms Cox said.

“We have been observing this code review and are quite concerned that NIBA has had the independent reviewer’s report for over six weeks now and has still not made it public.

“If NIBA won’t release the report, the independent reviewer should – and sooner rather than later.”

Ms Cox says the delay suggests NIBA is “out of step” with community and industry standards on the importance of transparency and disclosure.  

“There is no published submission from the code owner, and now a delay on releasing the independent report is of increasing concern,” she said. “If NIBA disagrees with the recommendations, it can do so after the release of the report in a response to the report – that is its right.

“But until we see the independent report, all we know is that NIBA doesn’t want us to know what the independent review found and the recommendations it has made.

“And that is not a good look for an industry under close scrutiny looking to improve its reputation.”

Reviewer Mr Khoury, from law firm crkhoury, told insuranceNEWS.com.au it has taken “longer than we would have liked” for the report to be finalised, but NIBA needed time to consult with members and provide a “full response”.

“We are now expecting that response in the next two weeks – which will make for a better review report,” he said. “We will consider NIBA’s response and then finalise our report as quickly as we can after that.”

While there has been no published submission from NIBA, Mr Khoury has confirmed the association board “did provide us with feedback on some of the code issues prior to our draft report”.

Chairman of the Insurance Brokers Code Compliance Committee, Oscar Shub, says he looks forward to seeing the report published but “recognises the importance of getting the process right”.

“We recognise that industry will naturally be considering its position on matters such as disclosure,” he said. “However, those discussions are best progressed once the independent review report is released, so that industry can respond to the findings in a considered and informed way.”

Mr Klipin says the association has gone to great lengths to ensure the process engages members and stakeholders fully and leads to the right outcome. He has also reconfirmed NIBA’s commitment to transparency.

“January was never set as a launch date and there is no stalemate,” he said. “We want to be open about what NIBA thinks, and what the code reviewer thinks. We’ve received a lot of feedback, and we welcome any further feedback from members or stakeholders.”