How to Use a Financial Adviser Effectively in Australia

The quality of financial advice you receive is directly proportional to the quality of information you provide. Arriving prepared compresses the discovery phase and gets you to actionable recommendations faster.

• Compile a complete financial snapshot: List every asset (bank accounts with balances, superannuation balance and fund name, investment properties with current value and mortgage balance, share portfolio, managed funds, vehicles) and every liability (home loan balance and rate, investment loans, personal loans, credit cards, HELP debt, car loans). Include your current income (salary, rental income, dividends, business income) and your regular expenses at a category level.
• Know your super details: Log into myGov and note your super fund name, current balance, investment option, and whether you have insurance inside super. Your adviser will ask - having this ready saves a full appointment.
• Define your goals clearly: What are you trying to achieve? 'Retire at 60 on $80,000/year income in today's dollars' is a goal. 'Get my finances sorted' is not. 'Pay off my mortgage in 10 years and fund my children's private schooling' is a goal. The more specific, the better the advice.
• Bring tax returns for the last 2 years: Your tax returns show employment income, investment income, rental income, deductions claimed, and HELP debt balance. An adviser without this data is working with incomplete information.
• Write down your questions: Advisers are busy and appointments have time constraints. Arriving with a written list of questions ensures nothing is forgotten and signals that you're an engaged client who expects substantive answers.

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Australian financial advice follows a regulated process. Understanding what should happen - and what the documents you receive mean - lets you evaluate whether you're receiving quality advice.

• The Financial Services Guide (FSG): Every licensed adviser must give you an FSG before providing advice. It discloses who they are, who licenses them (Australian Financial Services Licence holder), what services they provide, how they charge, and how to make a complaint. Read it. If an adviser resists providing an FSG, do not proceed.
• The fact-find: A legitimate advice process begins with a detailed fact-find - the adviser collects information about your financial position, goals, risk tolerance, insurance needs, and personal circumstances. This typically takes a full appointment. Be concerned if an adviser recommends products at the first meeting without a thorough fact-find.
• The Statement of Advice (SOA): All personal financial advice must be documented in an SOA. This document explains the advice, the basis for the advice, the adviser's reasoning, any conflicts of interest, and the expected costs and fees. You are entitled to receive the SOA before making any decisions. Read it in full - including the appendices showing product fees.
• The best interests duty: Since the FASEA reforms, all financial advisers must act in your best interests, not their firm's or product provider's interests. The advice must be appropriate for you based on your circumstances. An SOA that recommends moving all your money to products managed by the adviser's employer warrants scrutiny.
• Record of Advice (ROA): For subsequent advice that doesn't materially change your strategy, advisers can issue a shorter Record of Advice instead of a full SOA. This is normal for annual reviews - you should still receive a written record of what was discussed and recommended.

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Financial advice fees in Australia range from transparent and fair to opaque and conflicted. Understanding fee structures protects you from overpaying and misaligned advice.

• Fee-for-service: You pay a set dollar amount for advice - a flat fee per SOA ($2,000–$5,000 for comprehensive advice), a fixed ongoing retainer ($3,000–$8,000/year for ongoing advice), or an hourly rate ($300–$500/hour). This is the cleanest structure - the adviser's income is not tied to what products you buy or how much you invest.
• Percentage of assets under management (AUM): The adviser charges a percentage (typically 0.5–1%) of the assets they manage for you. On a $500,000 portfolio, this is $2,500–$5,000/year. This structure creates a financial incentive to grow your invested assets - which aligns interests in some ways but can also discourage debt repayment or super contributions that reduce investable assets the adviser manages.
• Conflicted remuneration is banned for most advice: Since the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) reforms, most product commissions are banned for personal financial advice on superannuation, investments, and retirement. However, life insurance commissions remain (up to 66% upfront, 22% ongoing). An adviser who recommends insurance should disclose what commission they receive.
• Ongoing fee consent: You must renew your consent for ongoing fees annually. Advisers cannot charge ongoing fees without annual consent. If you're being charged an ongoing fee but haven't had a review meeting or received any advice, you are entitled to stop paying and request a refund.
• The fee must be proportionate to the value: Paying $5,000/year for an adviser who does one 30-minute review annually and makes no material changes to your strategy is poor value. Paying $5,000/year for an adviser who actively manages your tax strategy, super contributions, insurance, estate planning, and investments across multiple meetings is potentially excellent value.

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The highest value from financial advice comes from a long-term relationship where the adviser understands your complete situation and can provide proactive advice as your circumstances change.

• Annual review meetings: A good ongoing adviser schedules at least one substantive review meeting per year. They review your current position, update your financial projections, discuss any life changes (job change, new child, property purchase, inheritance), and make adjustments to strategy. If reviews are superficial or infrequent, reassess the relationship.
• Proactive communication on legislative changes: Super rules, tax thresholds, Centrelink assessments, and aged care means testing change regularly. A proactive adviser contacts you when changes affect your strategy - not the other way around. If you're regularly learning about relevant changes from news articles rather than your adviser, you have the wrong adviser.
• Life event triggers: Contact your adviser when: you change jobs (review super, salary sacrifice, insurance), you have a child (review insurance, estate planning, Centrelink), you receive an inheritance (review super contribution capacity, investment strategy), you're considering a property purchase (borrowing capacity, structure), or you're approaching a significant birthday (55 - preservation age, 60 - super access, 67 - age pension).
• Be honest about your behaviour: If you've been spending more than planned, taken on new debt, or made investment decisions outside the advice relationship, tell your adviser. They can only help you with complete information. Advisers see all kinds of situations - there's nothing that will surprise them.
• Know when to change advisers: If your adviser doesn't know your name without checking notes, hasn't proactively contacted you in over 12 months, consistently recommends the same products regardless of your situation, or you've experienced a poor financial outcome that your adviser failed to anticipate or address - it may be time to seek a second opinion or change advisers.

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All financial advisers in Australia must be registered. Verifying credentials before engaging protects you from unlicensed operators and identifies advisers with disciplinary history.

• The Financial Advisers Register: Search for any financial adviser at moneysmart.gov.au/financial-advice/financial-advisers-register. The register shows: the adviser's name, current licensing status, the AFS licensee they operate under, their qualifications, years of experience, and any banning or disqualification history. Do this before your first appointment - not after.
• Qualifications to look for: Since 1 January 2026, all practising financial advisers must hold an approved degree (or equivalent), pass the FASEA exam, and complete ongoing CPD. The Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation from the Financial Planning Association (FPA) is a gold standard credential requiring additional education and ongoing ethics requirements.
• Making a complaint: If you believe you've received poor or inappropriate advice: first raise it formally in writing with the adviser's licensee. If unresolved, escalate to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) - free for consumers, binding on licensees up to $542,500 in compensation claims. AFCA replaced FOS and CIO in 2018.
• Professional associations: Members of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) and the Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) have agreed to higher professional standards and ethics obligations beyond the regulatory minimum. Membership doesn't guarantee quality but signals professional commitment.
• The cost of not getting advice: Research consistently shows that Australians who receive ongoing financial advice accumulate materially more wealth over 10+ years than those who don't - even after accounting for advice fees. The value comes from optimised super, better insurance decisions, tax minimisation, and disciplined investment behaviour. The question is not whether to get advice, but how to find a good adviser.

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