{"id":83995,"date":"2026-09-21T13:47:45","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T03:47:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/?p=83995"},"modified":"2026-09-22T14:50:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T04:50:43","slug":"finalists-announced-for-2026-faaa-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/2026\/09\/21\/finalists-announced-for-2026-faaa-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"Finalists Announced for 2026 FAAA Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The FAAA has unveiled the 19 finalists for its annual awards, with the winners set to be announced at a Gala Dinner at the <a href=\"https:\/\/faaa-congress-2026.eventsairsite.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Melbourne Congress<\/a> in late November.<\/p>\n<p>The association says the 2026 FAAA Awards recognise advisers and practices \u201c\u2026delivering the highest standards of professional advice to Australian consumers. The awards also acknowledge those who go above and beyond, giving back to their communities through pro bono work and volunteering.\u201d Additionally, the awards celebrate the next generation of advisers.<\/p>\n<p>This year a new award recognising excellence in risk advice has been added.<\/p>\n<p>The finalists named are:<\/p>\n<p>Risk Adviser of the Year Award:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Mark Everingham<\/strong>, CFP, Personal Risk Professionals<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cameron Peck<\/strong>, CFP, Safeguard Life<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Holistic Adviser of the Year Award:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Nathan Fradley<\/strong> FChFP, Fradley Advice<\/li>\n<li><strong>Charmaine Hall, <\/strong>Unbound Financial<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Certified Financial Planner Professional of the Year Award:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Scott Quinlan<\/strong>, CFP, Solace Financial<\/li>\n<li><strong>Dawn Thomas<\/strong>, CFP, The Wealth Designers<\/li>\n<li><strong>John Versace<\/strong>, CFP, Apt Wealth Partners<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Inspire Women \u2013 Excellence in Advice Award:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Sophie Doyle<\/strong>, Morgans Financial<\/li>\n<li><strong>Morgan Hayward<\/strong>, Lume Wealth<\/li>\n<li><strong>Andrea Jenkins<\/strong>, CFP, Jenbury Financial<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Professional Practice of the Year Award:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Apt Wealth Partners, VIC<\/li>\n<li>Oxlade Financial, QLD<\/li>\n<li>Solace Financial, QLD<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Gen Next Rising Star of the Year Award:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Eleanor Bagg<\/strong> CFP, EJM Advice<\/li>\n<li><strong>Braden King,<\/strong> Everest Wealth<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lydia Toghill<\/strong>, Collins SBA<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>University Student of the Year Award:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Kayla Bradfield<\/strong>, Swinburne University of Technology<\/li>\n<li><strong>Linda Connolly<\/strong>, Deakin University<\/li>\n<li><strong>Jaxon Goddard<\/strong>, Curtin University<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_70303\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-70303\" style=\"width: 150px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/files\/2024\/03\/Tania-Milnes-2-e1709690749648.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-70303\" src=\"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/files\/2024\/03\/Tania-Milnes-2-e1709690749648.jpg\" alt=\"Tania Milnes\" width=\"150\" height=\"180\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-70303\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tania Milnes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>FAAA general manger membership and strategic initiatives, <strong>Tania Milnes<\/strong>, says the finalists reflect the breadth of talent across the profession.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe FAAA awards acknowledge those who are truly committed to putting their clients first, supporting their communities, and raising standards across financial advice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She also thanked the award supporters, noting their dedication to recognising excellence across the profession.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Kieran Forde<\/strong>,\u00a0head of adviser channel at Zurich Australia, sponsors of the Adviser of the Year Award and Risk Adviser of the Year Award, said Zurich\u00a0congratulates the finalists for their achievements and for leading the way in financial advice.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;What stands out about this year\u2019s finalists across both categories is the dedication, professionalism and client focus they bring to their work every day.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0Beau Riley<\/strong>, general manager retail at TAL, sponsor of the Inspire Women \u2013 Excellence in Advice Award, said the finalists are being recognised not only for the quality of advice they deliver, but for the example they set across the profession.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;These finalists show what&#8217;s possible when you combine real expertise with genuine care for your clients. Through their leadership, professionalism and commitment to delivering better client outcomes, they&#8217;re inspiring others and helping strengthen the future of advice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The FAAA has unveiled the 19 finalists for its annual awards, with the winners set to be announced at a Gala Dinner at the Melbourne Congress in late November. The association says the 2026 FAAA Awards recognise advisers and practices \u201c\u2026delivering the highest standards of professional advice to Australian consumers. The awards also acknowledge those [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":84000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[282,241],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-associations","category-conferences-and-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83995","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\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83995"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83995\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84003,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83995\/revisions\/84003"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/84000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/riskinfo.com.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}