{"id":81723,"date":"2026-04-20T10:07:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T00:07:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/?p=81723"},"modified":"2026-04-23T16:46:58","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T06:46:58","slug":"business-failures-stall-new-adviser-reforms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/2026\/04\/20\/business-failures-stall-new-adviser-reforms\/","title":{"rendered":"Business Failures Stall \u2018New Adviser\u2019 Reforms"},"content":{"rendered":"

The collapse of Shield and First Guardian Master Funds has stalled long-awaited reforms to create a new class of adviser according to the FAAA\u2019s Phil Anderson<\/strong>, GM Policy, Advocacy & Standards.<\/p>\n

Attendees at the Melbourne leg of the Riskinfocus 26 CPD Tour<\/a> heard the delay is contributing to the shortage of advisers and limiting access to life insurance advice for consumers.<\/p>\n

During a panel discussion moderated by Craig Parker<\/strong>, AIA\u2019s GM Retail, Distribution & Retention, Anderson said the business failures \u2013 which cost 12,000 investors $1bn \u2013 had forced Treasury to shift focus away from reforming advice laws.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no question that we are now facing a delay,” he said. “It\u2019s very easy to understand why the government is reassessing,\u201d adding that Dr Daniel Mulino, Assistant Treasurer and Financial Services Minister, was now prioritising broader system safeguards.<\/p>\n

\"Panellists<\/a>
Pictured (L-R) Nial McConville MD Bombora Advice; Phil Anderson, GM Policy, Advocay & Standards; FAAA, Keely O\u2019Brien, GM Corporate Affairs and Strategy, CALI; Bradley Gecelter, Steadfast Life, and moderator Craig Parker, AIA\u2019s GM Retail, Distribution & Retention.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Panellist Keely O\u2019Brien,<\/strong> GM Corporate Affairs and Strategy, CALI (representing insurance manufacturers) said: “We have a pretty problematic situation in Australia right now where less than 20% of customers are happy with the service they’re getting when they call life insurers.<\/p>\n

“They don’t want general advice from them. They want something more, but they want something less than comprehensive advice.<\/p>\n

“We have referral pathways out to advisers like all of you in this room. But what we hear from our customers, and your clients, is when they call us to ask a few questions, maybe dial up, dial down, make a few changes [to their policies], they feel like, ‘why aren’t you able to help me?'”<\/p>\n

Adviser shortage<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s about 15,000 financial advisers currently, down from nearly 29,000 in 2019. Anderson said there\u2019s a widening gap between supply and demand for advice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are heaps of clients to go around,\u201d he said, citing growing superannuation balances and an intergenerational wealth transfer as drivers of future demand for advice.<\/p>\n

However, the shortage is particularly acute in life insurance, where complex compliance requirements and high costs have reduced the viability of providing such advice to consumers.<\/p>\n

The proposed new adviser class is intended to provide limited, lower-cost advice for simpler insurance needs while operating under supervision and with a pathway to full qualification.<\/p>\n

The FAAA has backed the model, arguing it could improve access without lowering consumer protections.<\/p>\n

A poll asking Melbourne attendees if they supported the proposed new class of adviser showed moderate support: 37 in favour, 17 against, and 25 not sure. Not all attendees cast a vote, but the result revealed plenty of those at the event are yet to be convinced it\u2019s a good idea.<\/p>\n

…This new type of adviser would be a potential opportunity for someone to learn…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Bradley Gecelter<\/strong>, an adviser with Steadfast Life<\/a>, said: \u201cTwelve months ago I sat on the panel here and said I’m not a fan of general advice. I [now] actually see that as a very valuable input into our business.<\/p>\n

“We’re getting more Australians insured. I don’t believe it’s taking anything away from the ideal client that I can service and provide extreme value for. But I also know at some point that client is going to be the ideal client that I want to provide advice for.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo let them start on the journey today under a GA model. Under the new class of adviser, they will come to me when they’re ready, or they’ll come to one of us when they’re ready and be our ideal client fit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> for more Riskinfocus 26 reports.<\/p>\n

\"Nial<\/a>
Nial McConville, MD, Bombora Advice, supports the proposed new class of adviser.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fellow panellist Nial McConville<\/strong>, MD, Bombora Advice<\/a> said: \u201cA lot of advisers, businesses are full.<\/p>\n

\u201cI look at our network within Bombora, a lot of our practises would love to grow faster than they are today, because they have a load of people that want to speak to them. They can’t find advisers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis new type of adviser would be a potential opportunity for someone to learn and spend a few years talking to customers, providing some type of advice. It would certainly make it a lot easier for our practice to pick them up and bring them into personal advice where \u2013 if that’s where they wanted to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anderson suggested the new class of adviser should initially focus on servicing existing clients, including helping them manage premium increases and reviewing cover, rather than replacing fully qualified advisers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about simple advice\u2026 And creating a pathway into the profession,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The collapse of Shield and First Guardian Master Funds has stalled long-awaited reforms to create a new class of adviser according to the FAAA\u2019s Phil Anderson, GM Policy, Advocacy & Standards. Attendees at the Melbourne leg of the Riskinfocus 26 CPD Tour heard the delay is contributing to the shortage of advisers and limiting access […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":81726,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[241,8295],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-81723","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-conferences-and-events","8":"category-riskinfocus-26"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81723"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81723\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82066,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81723\/revisions\/82066"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}