“School leavers are not attracted to the specialised area of study, and it is a significant investment for career changers,” he says, adding “Fewer higher education providers are offering courses due to the lack of entrants.”<\/p>\n
Jones, who announced his resignation in January, says his proposed changes will centre on a new requirement for advisers to hold a bachelor\u2019s degree or higher in any discipline.<\/p>\n “Prospective advisers will need to meet minimum study requirements in relevant financial concepts such as finance, economics or accounting,” he says.<\/p>\n They will also need to complete financial advice subjects covering:<\/p>\n “This provides relevant core knowledge for an adviser, streamlines entry into the industry and retains the important role of tertiary education,” says Jones.<\/p>\n …the cost and time to meet the requirements under the new standard will be halved…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n “It will also bring down the costs on prospective advisers and make it easier for people to change careers into financial advice later in life.”<\/p>\n “For most students studying a commerce, economics or finance degree \u2013 or people moving across from other financial services careers \u2013 the cost and time to meet the requirements under the new standard will be halved.”<\/p>\n Jones says advisers will still need to complete a professional year, pass the financial adviser exam and undertake ongoing continuing professional education:<\/p>\n “These reforms will complement the education requirements for the new class of financial advisers,” says Jones. “We will ensure the pathway is aligned to enable the new class of adviser to transition into the professional advice ranks.”<\/p>\n He says Government will work with industry and higher education providers to ensure an “appropriate transition to the new education standard”.<\/p>\n FAAA chief, Sarah Abood<\/strong>, cautions details such as the timing, arrangements for current students, and any impact on existing financial advisers working to meet the education standard by the deadline of 1 January 2026, are yet to be released.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is critical to the future of the profession that more people choose a career in financial advice and, as part of this, it needs to be easier for commerce, economics and finance students from all universities to become financial advisers,” she says.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, FSC CEO, Blake Briggs<\/strong>, says the current education standards are unnecessarily restrictive, creating barriers for both aspiring advisers and existing professionals trying to meet the requirements.<\/p>\n “These rigid standards have contributed to a critical shortage of financial advisers, with new entrants to the profession declining from almost 5,000 in 2018 to just over 500 in 2024,” he says.<\/p>\n Stage 2 Registration<\/strong><\/p>\n The Government will no longer proceed with Stage 2 of the registration process for financial advisers established by the Better Advice Act. This stage would have required individual advisers to register annually with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission from 1 July 2026.<\/p>\n “Financial advisers are already registered by their authorising Australian Financial Services licensees under Stage 1. Not proceeding with Stage 2 removes unnecessary red tape on individual advisers,” says Jones.<\/p>\n “These reforms build on the Government\u2019s Delivering Better Financial Outcomes package to help address the current supply shortage of financial advisers, cut red tape that is not leading to better consumer outcomes, and strengthen the industry\u2019s ability to meet the future demand for financial advice,” he says.<\/p>\n![\"Stephen](\"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/files\/2022\/06\/Stephen-Jones-2022-1-e1654519583104.jpg\")
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