Professional bodies welcome proposed overhaul of financial adviser requirements

“The lack of recognition of completed qualifications such as accounting, business, commerce and economics has made it challenging to attract new entrants as they are currently required to incur significant additional costs and time to complete an approved financial planning degree,” their statement read.

The JAWG, which includes accounting bodies CPA Australia, CA ANZ and IPA, warned that overly rigid education settings for financial advisers had led to a shortage in the profession.

Their numbers had dwindled from a high of almost 29,000 at the start of 2019 to just over 15,000 in April 2026, they warned.

“There is a large, and growing, advice gap in Australia. In its 2025 Financial Advice Report, Investment Trends has found that a massive 15.9 million Australians have unmet advice needs, and 1.3 million are planning to see an adviser in the next two years,” the joint bodies warned.

The Financial Advice Association of Australia (FAAA) also wrote in strong support of the government’s proposal, saying it would make a “meaningful positive difference in rebuilding the financial advice profession.”

It said it supported the three key elements of the proposal, including a bachelor's degree or higher requirement, the completion of four financial concept subjects and four accredited financial advice subjects.

The FAAA added that the government’s proposed changes would add flexibility for new entrants without reducing financial advice standards.

“At present, graduates of the universities who do not have an approved degree are unable to join the financial advice profession. This impacts the graduates of many of Australia’s leading universities,” it said in a statement.

“They are effectively excluded from the profession in the absence of undertaking significant costly additional study, with no capacity to recognise relevant study that they have previously undertaken.”

It added that the proposals would still require financial advisers to pass an exam, undertake a professional year and complete 40 hours of ongoing continuous professional development each year.

The FAAA also encouraged the government to clarify that the changes would not affect existing practitioners who had met previous education standards, and to take steps in supporting financial advice education providers through the transition.

“The FAAA recognises that the transition from the current standard to the new standard will take time,” it said in a statement. 

“It is particularly important that during this transition, and beyond, the knowledge and expertise of the Higher Education Providers (HEPs) who have invested in the development of financial advice education courses is retained.”