Since the group was revealed, there have been questions about a lack of practising financial advisers among its number.

It is chaired by Angus Dale-Jones, who comes from a regulatory background.

Other members are consumer representatives Barbara Benson and Brian McCulloch, fund manager John Berry, ASB general counsel Graeme Edwards, consultant Paul Mersi, AMP general manager of sales and advice Therese Singleton, and Forsyth Barr head of private client services Shane Edmond.

The only AFA is Rebecca Vanderbom but she does not have a client-facing role.

At the time it was suggested that the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment should rethink its appointment process and add an AFA. The working group had space for more members.

That did not happen and as the working group has progressed with its body of work, advisers have argued that it is producing standards that unfairly benefit big providers, at the expense of the small, independent part of the industry.

The issue came to a head most recently when a comment by SiFA member Murray Weatherston prompted the working group to briefly boycott this media outlet and refuse to engage with Weatherston.

Faafoi said he had not received any formal complaints about the make-up of the group.

“However, I have had discussions with stakeholders in which the code of conduct generally has come up. Recognising the large range of stakeholders who will be impacted by the code, it is appropriate that the bill sets significant consultation obligations on the code working group.”

He said, under its terms of reference, the code working group must consult with any persons who are representative of the financial advice industry or consumers of financial advice and the group must give any person who will be affected by the code the opportunity to make submissions.

“It is my strong expectation they will do that.”