The Stockbrokers and Investments Advisers Association believes passing of the new education pathway could be “a quick win” for new Minister for Financial Services Daniel Mulino.
Former minister Stephen Jones announced proposed changes to the education pathway at the Professional Planner Advice Policy Summit in February, which would remove the specialised financial planning degree as a prerequisite to gain entry to the profession and instead allow any bachelor’s degree or higher qualification.
Jones announced his retirement before the election with Mulino being appointed last week when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese unveiled his new cabinet following Labor’s election win earlier this month.
“The SIAA will be prosecuting the argument that a bill should be introduced as soon as possible, definitely this year, to implement this much needed reform,” chief executive Judith Fox said at the SIAA conference in Sydney on Monday.
Fox said the association had spent the past few years advocating for changes to the education standard to be less rigid which would attract new entrants coming from peripheral degrees.
“The SIAA developed a proposal to amend the education standard to make it more flexible and to have existing degrees in accounting, commerce, finance, economics [be] all subjects really suited to working in capital markets,” Fox said.
“Our proposal was to have them recognised as excellent entry degrees for financial advisers, while also providing for some core subjects.”
Fox added the association would also be engaged in conversations with the Senate and needed to win over the Australian Greens party as they will hold the balance of power.
“We need them to understand the need for this reform, because the proposed reform makes the profession more attractive to new graduates,” Fox said.
The proposal was then taken to the Financial Advice Association Australia, which helped refine it, and then to the other advice associations, comprising the Joint Associations Working Group.
In May 2024, JAWG emphasised the importance of maintaining a high standard as part of the proposed streamlined education pathway.
“We, as a group, took the proposal to the Labor government, and we were delighted to have the proposal accepted by the former Minister for Financial Services,” Fox said.
Jones was unable to implement the reforms before the federal election, and left them, along with many other proposed reforms, in the hands of Mulino.
Mulino will also be tasked with reforming the troubled Compensation Scheme of Last Resort, as well as finalising the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes reforms.
Jones released a draft bill for Tranche 2 of the DBFO in March which only covered half of the promised reforms with Treasury still working on the introduction of the new class of adviser and removal of the safe harbour steps.
The association’s submission to Treasury regarding the draft bill for Tranche 2 of the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes described the legislation as “a disappointing outcome from two years of regulatory review”.
The replacement of the Statement of Advice with the Client Advice Record, a key part of the draft bill, was rejected. The association said it was difficult to provide a proper response to the legislation, since it didn’t offer a complete version.
SIAA policy manager Michelle Huckel said the association believes the bill “falls short of the government’s aim of enabling more Australians to receive advice”.
Huckel also said the association would continue to advocate for changes to the CSLR, which it described as “so purely unsustainable” following the estimations of levies exceeding to $70 million in FY26 and $120 million in FY27.
She also warned of “dark clouds on the horizon” with the collapse of the $480 million Shield Master Fund, being investigated by ASIC.
