2026 Advice Policy Summit

The opening panel will address the key issues in the business and regulation of financial advice, setting the scene for the summit. It will examine how the advice ecosystem balances the need for consumer protection with the desire to remove red tape and expand access to advice. It will debate next steps and impact of the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes legislation, and the big demographic and secular head- and tailwinds facing the industry. It will draw out the delegation’s utmost policy priorities and the realpolitik of turning them into law.

Includes table discussion

This session will provide an exclusive briefing on the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s investigation into Shield and First Guardian and the regulator’s priorities in financial advice, including oversight of AFSLs, use of AI, self-managed super fund advice, managed accounts and exposures to public and private markets.

This session will unveil exclusive CoreData research on how the Shield and First Guardian crisis has affected consumer sentiment towards financial advice, superannuation and the broader industry. It will also question the role played by gatekeepers in a fragmented advice landscape.

Continuing with the theme of the industry’s response to the Shield and First Guardian incident, this session will consider the next steps for remediation of victims, and the implications for the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort and industry’s external dispute resolution frameworks. It will examine opportunities for intelligence sharing and enhanced governance to prevent another consumer crisis.

Includes table discussion

As superannuation surpasses $4 trillion in assets, the system is expanding its influence over the economy, sharemarket and provision of financial advice. This session features a candid conversation with industry leaders about the national contribution made by our unique super system as well as the systemic risks facing or accelerated by it, and its relationship with key segments of the broader industry including professional advice and adviser-facing platforms.

This exclusive briefing will update delegates on the federal government’s financial advice agenda, including the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes legislation, Compensation Scheme of Last Resort review and fallout from the Shield and First Guardian collapses.

National Gallery of Australia

In a fragmented financial advice landscape, trusted service providers take on additional significance. This session will combine a keynote address from the summit’s principal partner, followed by a wide-ranging fireside chat on how to foster a culture of innovation, due diligence and prosperity for advisers and consumers.

In this session, a senior representative of the new-look Coalition leadership and economic team will discuss the federal Opposition’s views on the key policy debates across superannuation and financial services, as well as their ideas to boost productivity in the economy.

The emergence of the so-called teal independent movement is among the more significant developments in recent Australian political history, with major implications for policymaking and power dynamics. This fireside chat will provide candid reflections on politics, policy and the press.

The introduction of professional standards has significantly lifted the quality of financial advice in the country, but it's come with the cost of a reduction of adviser numbers and a reduction in the amount of Australians receiving advice. This discussion will dissect the policy levers that need to be pulled to help facilitate the growth of the profession and how to best include specialisations and sub-sectors without diluting hard-fought guardrails.

This session will present the latest academic research on developing a world-class retirement experience for superannuation fund members, drawing out the key contentions between hard and soft defaults, product design and implementation, nudges and advice - and the scope for government- and or industry-led solutions.

Superannuation funds are being called on to play a more active role helping members transition to retirement as Australia grapples with the demographic wave of an ageing population and retiring Baby Boomer generation. This session will dissect and debate the policy landscape governing the complex questions of super and retirement advice, and the strategies and decisions facing funds across comprehensive, digital and external channels.

Includes table discussion

This session will examine how the advice profession is adapting to technological change and a range of industry-and government-led policies to underpin innovation in the ecosystem. It will debate the rise and rise of managed portfolios, AI and cyber governance and advent of digital advice.  

The final session of the summit will conclude and reflect on the key debate and seek consensus on how best to promote the provision of financial advice to policymakers and regulators and in the community. It will assess the optimal path ahead for advice law reform, consumer protection and democratisation of advice.

Includes table discussion