MenuThe Financial Advice Association of Australia (FAAA) welcomes the Government’s consultation on adviser education reforms, which it says are key to growing the number of high quality professional financial advisers.
“We know there is a large, and growing, advice gap in Australia. In the last seven years the number of financial advisers has almost halved, while at the same time, demand for financial advice has skyrocketed,” says Sarah Abood, CEO of the FAAA.
From a high of almost 29,000 financial advisers at the start of 2019, numbers have reduced to 15,127 as at 12 March 2026 – a fall of almost 48 per cent. 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.
“Only 464 current financial advisers entered the profession during 2025. Clearly we need to substantially increase the number of new entrants, and one of the key barriers has been the current inflexible and highly prescriptive tertiary degree requirements. The numbers enrolling in these degrees have been low, and six qualifying courses were discontinued last year for this reason,” says Abood.
“Along with our JAWG partners, the FAAA has long advocated for more flexible degree pathways including recognising more relevant studies that may have been undertaken in related degrees.
“We are very pleased to see the Government has heard these concerns and is acting, with its consultation announced today on Education Reform for Financial Advisers. On behalf of our members, we will be carefully reviewing these proposals to ensure they achieve the goal of opening up more flexible degree pathways for new entrants, while maintaining high standards for financial advice education.
“Importantly, existing courses will continue to be relevant, and current students can be confident that these degrees will qualify them to enter the profession in the future.
“Financial advice is a critical profession that changes lives for the better: improving retirement outcomes, financial resilience and long-term well-being. In conjunction with our Career Changers digital campaign and Advice Academy initiative, we’ll continue to support people from all walks of life to become advisers and help meet growing consumer demand for high quality financial advice.”
