The framework governing professional financial advice should be reformed as it is fragmented and does not reflect how Australians look for and want to receive advice, according to SMSF Association policy manager Keddie Waller.
Speaking at the professional body’s recent Technical Summit 2025 in Sydney, Waller noted there were numerous boundaries between tax, financial planning, legal and accounting advice that constrained the ability of SMSF practitioners to meet the needs of their clients.
“Our members are doing everything they can to support clients across all stages of life, but they’re being held back by a regulatory system built in silos. The system needs to evolve,” Waller said.
“I’ve been talking about regulatory complexity and burden for the better part of two decades, but the challenge is, as professional advisers, you have to navigate financial product advice, the Corporations Act, the Consumer Credit Protection Act, the Tax Agent Services Act and all the myriad of regulations that go with it, including ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) and legislative instruments.
“You really need to understand, when you’re sitting in front of your client, what is the scope of your advice, what is your professional capacities or competencies.
“Clients don’t understand the regulatory lines – they see a trusted adviser. And when that adviser can’t meet their needs or worse, oversteps and risks a breach, both parties lose.
“They sit in front of you at an important point of their life and they expect to have a conversation with their trusted adviser and get the answer they need at that time.
“It’s time we fix the framework so that trusted professionals can give the advice Australians need.”
The SMSF Association reiterated its support for a flexible, principles-based model of professional advice that better reflected the real-world needs of clients and allowed practitioners to support them through significant life events, such as starting a business, funding aged care or managing family wealth.
“The advice gap isn’t closing – it’s widening. We need a smarter regulatory approach that allows qualified professionals to help Australians when and how they need it,” Waller added.
