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The Albanese Government is committed to an advice industry with strong professional standards that gives Australians access to high quality financial advice. This has been made more difficult by the previous Government’s mishandling of the new education and qualification framework.

Since 2019, over 10,000 financial advisers have left the industry in response to new standards. Many were unsuited to the requirements of the new industry, which include professional qualification. However, this has pushed some experienced advisers, with no history of misconduct, out of the industry, reducing access to advice.

As a transition measure, the Government will fulfill its election commitment to better recognise the experience of long‑serving advisers. Today, draft legislation has been released for .

The draft legislation would deem an adviser to have met the education requirements if they:

• have 10 years (cumulative) experience providing advice between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2021; and
• have not recorded any disciplinary action on the Financial Advisers Register before 31 December 2021.

To be considered an experienced adviser, the adviser must still pass the financial adviser exam.

Feedback has also highlighted that some individuals currently fail to meet the education standards for purely technical reasons, despite completing the substance of an approved degree.

The legislation would address this by increasing the flexibility of the degree approval process, by allowing domestic qualification applications to the Minister and the ability for education providers to confirm that a person has completed the requirements in an approved degree.

Treasury will commence further engagement with industry shortly and encourage interested parties to provide feedback on the draft legislation before 3 May 2023.

The Government is committed to reviewing the education settings for new entrants and not creating unnecessary barriers to entry, ensuring financial advice remains a career of choice.