The Assistant Treasurer, Arthur Sinodinos, has released draft legislation containing the Government's amendments to the Future of Financial Advice legislation.As promised in December, the key amendments include removal of the opt-in requirement (which requires clients to renew their fee arrangements with their adviser every two years) and an exemption for general advice from the ban on conflicted remuneration.Other changes include the removal of annual fee disclosure requirements for clients who entered into arrangements before July 2013 and measures to facilitate the provision of scaled advice.The Australian Bankers' Association was particularly keen to see changes to the conflicted remuneration rule. Its concern was that the rule would have caught the offer of retail banking products and services.ABA chief executive Steven Munchenberg said: "These changes mean FOFA can still be effective without the banks having to make substantial changes to their business models, compliance systems and workplace agreements, which would have resulted in the offer of retail banking products becoming cumbersome and costly."Customers would have had to speak to different bank staff if they wanted to make a transaction or open an account, or take out an insurance policy."Under the current law, a benefit is exempt from the ban on conflicted remuneration if it relates to a basic banking product, and the agent or employee of an authorised deposit-taking institution, at the time of providing advice on the basic banking product, does not provide financial product advice on any other financial product except a general insurance product.Under the proposed amendment, the exemption would also cover situations where the agent or employee also provides financial product advice on other "simple" financial products at the same time as advice on a basic banking product.