The news that a new class of adviser is likely to become a reality across the Tasman in 2025 generated a huge amount of interest among Australian advisers and Riskinfo’s last poll in Australia for 2024 asked your trans-Tasman counterparts about their preferred term for this new class of adviser.
The poll followed an announcement by the Australian Federal Government in December 2024 releasing further details of what will be contained in the second tranche of its financial advice reform package, with the creation of the new class of adviser taking centre stage.
The Australian poll offered advisers six options on what this new class of adviser might be called with the terms Product Consultant (32%); Restricted Adviser (26%) and Product Agent (17%) gathering the most votes from poll respondents.
Interestingly the term Qualified Adviser, which had been used as a placeholder name initially by the Australian Treasury, was supported by only 2% of respondents as was the term Advice Associate. Advice Consultant took 10% of the votes.
The Federal Government’s December announcement had noted this new class of adviser would provide safe and simple advice, such as choosing an insurance policy or basic questions about retirement.
Submissions as to the appropriate descriptor for the new class of adviser had already been put to the Australian Treasury, and the industry over the ditch now awaits the Government’s decision.
As our sister publication reported in its December poll story, while the Australian financial advice industry has been debating this name for 12 months, there are other questions that are more important, such as exactly what the new class of adviser will actually be allowed to do, once the legislative green light has been confirmed.