Less than two weeks out from 2026, the profession is waiting to see what the total adviser loss will be from the new education requirements with predictions ranging from 900 to more than 2,300.
In accordance with the Corporation Amendment (Professional Standards of Financial Advisers) Act passed in 2016, individuals who are unable to meet the experience pathway criteria and wish to continue operating as an adviser past 30 December 2025 are required to meet higher minimum education and training standards to continue as a financial adviser.
In anticipation of the upcoming deadline, ASIC issued its “final warning” to the advice industry at the start of December, urging advisers and licensees to ensure their Financial Adviser Register (FAR) records were up to date before the end of the year.
Based on the FAR at the time, ASIC said some 2,326 relevant providers of the 15,469 on the register hadn’t flagged their use of the experience pathway but were yet to meet the incoming education standards, signalling a potential 15 per cent decline in adviser numbers before the end of the year.
In September, the Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA) flagged the potential loss as a mounting issue on a webinar, putting their prediction at the at around 1,000.
Notably, both Centrepoint Alliance and Morgans Financial Advisers told Money Management they expect little to no losses as a result of the education deadline. However, both noted concerns regarding how the overall losses will impact advice industry.
Centrepoint Alliance chief executive John Shuttleworth said he expects they will lose a maximum of six advisers at the end of this year, while suggesting that the loss for others may be far more significant.
“I think the numbers to watch will be how many advisers roll off as a result of the education requirements that kick in from 1 January. We have a whole education team working through it. Our loss will be a maximum of six, probably even less than that so, it’s going to have minimal impact.
“It’ll be interesting to see some of the other groups, and particularly those with limited licence advisers, and whether they bother to meet the educational standards or they just let their licence lapse, which might have a bit of an impact on some of their numbers.”
In July, Padua Wealth Data founder Colin Williams noted the strong outflow of advisers from the limited advice sector earlier this year, saying the sector is “dead in the water”. At the time he reported a loss of some 132 limited advisers, adding that they would likely continue their decline as the year progressed.
Morgans organisation enhancement manager, adviser and branches, Aldo Boccalatte said the AFSL won’t be losing even a single adviser due to the education changes following a five-year push.
“We’re getting all our people all across the line, which is, we’re all good, but there are other licensees that are probably going to see some people retiring, or people exiting, or what have you.”
According to Padua Wealth Data’s final weekly update until early January, the week ending 18 December saw a net loss of 58 advisers, bringing the total down to just 15,373. It is important to note however there were 25 new entrants this week meaning the loss of experienced advisers is actually 77.
As he signed off for the year, Williams said, “We expect the reporting to start showing steep losses from 8 Jan and will progress through January until everyone returns to the office, typically after Australia Day”.
Reflecting on the state of the profession in the wake of the 2019 Royal Commission, Boccalatte said the steady outflow of advisers – whether that be due to retirement or simply leaving the profession – isn’t being rebalanced by incoming talent.
“We’re at about 15,500, give or take, retail advisers. We were that back in 2019/2020. We’ve put in roughly about 1,500 PYs and we’re still at the same level. There’s still this exodus going out, and we’re not replenishing anywhere at the same speed. There’s going to be a shortage of advisers.”
While there has been significant emphasis, particularly from the FAAA, on getting new entrants into the profession, Boccalatte said they are not a fix to the adviser shortage challenge right now.
“The other reality is that if someone completes the PY, they’re only at the starting point. They’re not a proficient, high-functioning adviser. They’re still doing their craft, and we’ve got programmes under our Morgans Academy to help them develop those skills, but that takes time. So, professional year people aren’t a light switch. They’re the 4-5 year replenishment concept.”
He added: “For 13 December, if the rumours are right and we get further leakage, then that’s going to make it quite interesting to see what’s going to happen in terms of the adviser supply and availability out there.”
Looking at what can be done to stem the outflow of advisers, WT Financial founder and managing director Keith Cullen said one of his top priorities for 2026 is “to see the restrictive ‘Relevant Degree’ regime overhauled so we can get back to growing the profession”.
In February, former Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones said he would be introducing measures to reform financial adviser education requirements to “create a sustainable pathway for new advisers to enter the profession”.
Speaking at Momentum Media’s Election 2025 breakfast even in April, Jones and then shadow treasurer Angus Taylor shared bipartisan support for the education reforms.
Despite the shared recognition of the education bottleneck and the Labor government’s assurances that it would address this and other critical issues following the federal election in May, Mulino is yet to make any progress on this issue since taking up the financial services portfolio.
Urging the minister to make the education issue a priority, Cullen said, “The current rules don’t just slow down progress—they lock out capable people who want to join the profession. A modern, flexible, and practical education pathway is essential if we truly believe in the future of advice”.
