Government plans to expand the pathway for new entrants into advice to anyone holding a bachelor’s degree have been welcomed by a number of professional bodies concerned by the limited number of people entering the profession in recent years.
Financial Advice Association Australia chief executive Sarah Abood welcomed the change, stating the Joint Action Working Group (JAWG) – made up of a range of advice, accounting and tax bodies – had suggested a number of changes to the education pathway, but the current proposal exceeded those recommendations.
“It is critical to the future of the profession that more people choose a career in financial advice and, as part of this, it needs to be easier for commerce, economics and finance students from all universities to become financial advisers,” Abood said.
“However, the government’s response goes beyond the JAWG proposals and we are concerned about changes that may adversely impact the existing universities offering financial advice education.
“It will be important to confirm that existing financial planning courses will remain approved in the new world and that these existing programs remain an important pathway for new entrants to join the profession.
“We note that important detail is yet to be communicated, including the timing, arrangements for current students and any impact on those existing financial advisers who are striving to meet the education standard by the deadline of 1 January 2026.”
Stockbrokers and Investment Advisers Association chief executive Judith Fox said the proposal was “a move away from the failed approach to the education pathway into the profession of financial adviser”.
“We are on the record over some years as calling for a more flexible pathway, having seen the current framework collapse the pipeline into the profession by locking out both new graduates and professional mid-career changers with excellent degrees suited to the adviser role who are currently considered unqualified,” Fox said.
“The result has been a replacement rate of 1 per cent, with approximately only 150 new entrants across the entire financial advice ecosystem year on year. This is not even sufficient to match the numbers retiring from the profession.”
She added the change would ensure the sustainability of the profession and recognises a degree is the first step in becoming a fully qualified financial adviser, and new entrants still must complete a professional year with 100 hours of training and supervision by an experienced adviser and sit the professional standards exam.
Financial Services Council chief executive Blake Briggs said further reforms to financial advice education standards would ease the way for more people to become advisers.
“The current education standards are unnecessarily restrictive, creating barriers for both aspiring advisers and existing professionals trying to meet the requirements,” Briggs said.
“These rigid standards have contributed to a critical shortage of financial advisers, with new entrants to the profession declining from almost 5000 in 2018 to just over 500 in 2024.
“These issues have been further exacerbated by several universities withdrawing their financial planning courses and bridging units due to low demand.”
