Coalition targets 'ambitious' goal of 30k advisers

Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor and Shadow Assistant Treasurer Luke Howarth have announced a range of measures the Coalition would be looking to prioritise for the financial advice industry if elected on May 3.

Among these policies, Taylor and Howarth said the Coalition would make access to affordable financial advice a priority by setting an "ambitious target" to rebuild the advice industry to 30,000 advisers.

The numerical target would also be embedded in ASIC's Statement of Expectations and would serve as a guiding principle, ensuring financial advice regulation must be focused on reducing costs, building the industry and ensuring Australians have access to affordable advice.

There are currently less than 16,000 financial advisers in Australia. Prior to the Royal Commission, at its peak, there was about 26,500.

The Coalition said setting a target acknowledges the collapse in adviser numbers and replacement rate over the last decade.

Taylor said in times of economic uncertainty Australians need access to affordable financial advice to protect their hard-earned wealth.

"Labor has left Australia dangerously unprepared for future economic shocks, leaving Australians under-advised, under-insured, and under-banked," Taylor said.

"A Coalition government will rebuild the advice industry and make it a more attractive profession by reducing red tape and compliance costs to bring the number of advisers back to a sustainable level."

Howarth said financial professionals are trusted members of the community and need a government which respects and prioritises them.

"Financial advice reform has been an afterthought for the Albanese government and the botched rollout of the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort has been a costly disaster" Howarth said.

"Successive governments have piled on layers of new regulation and it is time for a new approach which reduces costs and supports the growth of the industry."

The announcement was welcomed by the Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA).

FAAA chief executive Sarah Abood said she was encouraged to see several of the Coalition's proposed measures aligned with the FAAA's priorities for the next federal government. These included the commitment to reforming the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR), giving advisers access to the ATO portal, reducing regulatory burden through DBFO and supporting new entrants to the profession.

"These are all important steps in addressing the challenges currently facing the sector. The profession has been clear: regulation in its current form is too often duplicative, inconsistent, and costly - for advisers and consumers alike. Thus, the proposed creation of a financial services deregulation taskforce is needed and welcome," Abood said.

"We applaud the Coalition on its ambitious target of 30,000 advisers. A numerical target for rebuilding adviser numbers is a helpful signal of intent, though this must be matched by action that makes the profession more viable and attractive to new entrants.

"We continue to advocate for concrete reform to CSLR - specifically, capping the advice levy at $10 million and ending adviser responsibility for product failures - and believe that without such change, rebuilding the industry will remain difficult."