Incoming Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Daniel Mulino will be handed a half-finished package of financial advice reforms and face an advice profession clamouring for a resolution to a legislative agenda that now dates back well over three years.
But in the newly minted junior minister the financial advice profession appears to have an ally. In 2023 Mulino told parliament that “financial advice is absolutely critical to people’s long-term welfare”.
“Financial advice relates to some of the most important and complex decisions that we make,” he said during the second reading of the Treasury Laws Amendment (2023 Measures No. 3) bill.
“It relates to decisions as to how we save over the long run and how we allocate our savings and assets across different classes: do we use our savings to pay off our home, do we put them into super, do we put them into investment products?
“These kinds of decisions have a critically important impact on our post-retirement standard of living, on the amount of risk that we bear in accumulating assets and on our security in retirement.”
Mulino’s predecessor Stephen Jones ran out of time to pass Tranche 2 of the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes legislative reforms, which stemmed from the final report of the Quality of Advice Review handed to the government in December 2022.
Advice associations expect Mulino to pick up where Jones left off and to prioritise completing the reforms. Other demands from the profession include fixing the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR), providing access for advisers to the Australian Taxation Office portal and supporting new entrants to the profession.
At a media briefing to unveil his new-look ministry on Monday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Mulino is well qualified to handle the outer-ministry portfolio responsibilities and that he had been given the nod to succeed Jones “because he’s terrific”.
“He’ll do a very good job,” Albanese said. “He is very well qualified for the job. He’s someone who was very pleased to get that job, I assure you.
“In terms of his qualification…he’s got a PhD in economics from Yale. That’s kind of handy.”
In addition to his doctorate, Mulino has a master’s degree in economics from the University of Sydney, Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts degrees from Australian National University, and is the author of Safety Net: The Future of Welfare in Australia, an analysis of the evolution of the Australian welfare state and the reforms required to ensure its sustainability and effectiveness today. Mulino was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2019 and re-elected in 2022 and 2025.
“He’s played a role in the parliament here in economics,” Albanese said.
“I think the economics team remains very strong, led, of course, by Jim [Chalmers] and Katie [Gallagher].”
The Member for Fraser was chair of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, which oversees activities of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and is regarded as well versed in issues related to financial regulation and the financial services industry.
As an economist and lawyer by background, he is also seen as relatively business-friendly, with one lobbyist, speaking on background, saying Mulino had a reputation for being “thoughtful and consultative”.
The DBFO reforms were a major focus of Jones’ time in government and will likely feature early in Mulino’s term as a minister.
In July 2024, Jones managed to negotiate Tranche 1 of the DBFO reforms through parliament, which included the so-called “quick wins” of streamlining fee consent forms for clients, providing more flexibility for advice providers over how Financial Services Guide requirements can be met and clarifying the legal basis for super funds to pay advice fees to members.
The Tranche 1 reforms also introduced ministerial power over standardised consent forms, but producing said form has proven problematic.
Not long before the federal election, the government released draft legislation on the first part of the Tranche 2 DBFO reforms.
The draft legislation included the eradication of Statements of Advice and outlined the scope of advice super funds can collectively charge members for. The bill also included “nudges” – targeted superannuation prompts – for funds. However, it did not include reforms to the Best Interests Duty and safe harbour steps, as well as the controversial “new class of adviser”, which is yet to have even a name set in stone.
Following his resignation, Jones pledged on several occasions that his successor would be equally committed to legislating advice reform, although there was no indication of who it might be if Labor took office again.
Another essential area for Mulino is reviewing the CSLR, which is imposing huge financial levies on financial advisers that will only increase further in the next couple of years without reform.
On the day it was announced the total advice subsector levy would be more than $70 million in FY26, blowing out the subsector cap of $20 million, Jones launched a review into the scheme in the hope of reining it in. CSLR CEO David Berry has revealed the levy is forecast to be more than $120 million for FY27.
The Financial Advice Association Australia and other industry associations hope that as minister, Mulino will continue to cut red tape and support the profession.
FAAA chief executive Sarah Abood said the association welcomed “the opportunity to work with him on issues such as the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes reforms and fixing the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort”.
“These are priorities that our members are keen to see addressed quickly by the federal government,” Abood said.
“It is critical that we build a healthy and sustainable financial advice community in Australia to help more Australians achieve financial wellbeing and security.”
Financial Services Council CEO Blake Briggs said Mulino takes over the role “with a good understanding of the significant economic contribution [the] financial services industry makes to the Australian economy” and “a balanced view on the opportunities and challenges the sector faces”.
The Council of Australian Life Insurers CALI echoed FSC’s sentiment. CEO Chris Cupitt said Mulino “will bring a deep understanding of economic policy” and “a clear commitment to the wellbeing of all Australians through a strong and transparent financial system”.
“Dr Mulino has a clear track record of improving outcomes in the insurance industry. He understands the protection needs of all Australians and the importance of access to a strong financial safety net.”
“We welcome his appointment and look forward to working with the Government to progress its pre-election commitment to implement the remaining reforms in the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes package.”
