Every Australian Deserves a Stronger Tomorrow. Together we can deliver this

Here are three big ideas.

We all know that we are standing at the edge of a profound transformation in how financial advice is delivered, accessed, and experienced in Australia. Much focus has been on an array of exponential technologies —AI, automation, data analytics, and digital platforms but do these transformations enable the 11.8 million Australians who want advice to get the opportunity to do so?

Barely one in ten adults receive professional advice each year. It's not because they don't see the value. It's because access remains difficult, expensive, and limited by adviser capacity.

For a country with one of the most admired superannuation systems in the world, the inability to deliver widespread access to comprehensive financial advice is a glaring contradiction.  As an industry we are now faced with a pivotal moment: how do we shift from serving the few to supporting the many?

Scale or fail

We all know that the traditional advice model is resource intensive. As advisers you must navigate a maze of regulatory obligations while delivering deeply personalised strategies. This limits scalability. Meanwhile, the compliance burden inflates the cost to serve, pushing advice out of reach for everyday Australians.

As the Quality of Advice Review (QAR) acknowledged, the system has grown complex to the point of exclusion. Reforms underway may ease some of this friction, but regulatory relief alone won’t be enough. To bridge the advice gap, the industry must also embrace smarter operating models.

Here are three big ideas

1. First, we believe advice creation must be re-engineered. 

Automating the production of Statements of Advice (SOAs), centralising data, and building in compliance from the start can drastically cut adviser workloads. By adopting platforms that structure data intelligently and reduce rekeying, advisers can produce compliant, personalised advice in a fraction of the time.

In light of the DBFO tranche 2, the Client Advice Record (CAR) changes and Ongoing Fee Arrangements (OFA), Midwinter is currently exploring with clients  how their advice documents are able to be updated to communicate advice and guidance in a more succinct, client friendly manner. 

2. Second, you must tier your services to scale impact and sharpen value.

Not everyone needs or wants comprehensive advice. By offering scoped or episodic advice through a modular format, you can engage a broader audience. This also allows you to prioritise where your expertise delivers the greatest impact, while ensuring clients with straightforward needs aren’t priced out.

Midwinter’s guided, single-topic advice journeys let our superannuation clients deliver to their members specific advice areas online, with phone-based advisers available to support more complex needs, should the member need it.

In addition, Midwinter’s Contribution Optimiser helps you quickly identify the most effective super contribution strategy for your clients. It analyses various scenarios, taking 

into account assessable income, contribution caps, and tax implications—so you can build a tailored strategy in under five minutes.

3. Third, digital engagement must be redefined. 

Modern advice platforms can support real-time modelling and interactive tools that bring clients into the process. From goal-setting portals to scenario simulators, these tools not only engage clients but allow them to take ownership of their advice journey. And crucially, they allow you to maintain relationships between appointments.

Midwinter’s Dynamic Fact Find is designed to engage new clients from the start, offering easy access and a simple, user-friendly way to upload key information. It streamlines client meetings and equips you with valuable insights right from the outset.

In addition, the Midwinter client portal enables secure document sharing, client approvals, and real-time updates to personal details. It also includes user-friendly calculators to keep clients engaged and invested in the advice process.

A hybrid future

While technology can reduce cost and complexity, the focus must be on giving you the tools for better enablement.  A hybrid advice model — where digital tools and human insight combine — is fast becoming the best benchmark.

This model is already delivering strong results in superannuation. Over six million super fund members benefit from digital advice powered by Bravura’s Midwinter, with many combining it with phone-based support to build financial capability so members can make smarter decisions.

We also know that practices using proven advice software report that advice production time can be halved. Some complete data collection and document generation in as little as 90 minutes. These efficiencies translate directly into capacity: more Australians can be helped, and at a lower cost.

Midwinter is actively exploring new ways to streamline the entire advice process—from data collection and strategy development to advice generation and implementation. Identifying time-saving opportunities across these areas will be a key focus for Midwinter for the 2026 financial year.

Beyond advice: a community approach

Broader industry participation is also essential. Super funds who are now embedding limited advice services in their digital platforms are helping their members to start to build their financial capability and become comfortable with participating in an advice journey.

There’s also been a rethink on who delivers advice. The QAR introduces the concept of non-licensed providers giving general information under supervision. With the right frameworks, trained paraplanners could extend the reach of licensed advice without compromising on quality.

Innovation with safeguards

To go further, Australia should consider how new technologies could extend advice access even more.  What could we do and offer tomorrow?

The future will demand guardrails. From day one data privacy, ethical oversight and professional review must be embedded into every solution. Technology must support trust, not erode it.

The advice revolution is ready

The road to advice accessibility is not about doing more of the same. It’s about doing it differently. Technology exists today to transform advice from a one-to-one service into a scalable solution. Regulatory reform will help, but the biggest shift must be in mindset.

If the industry can move boldly — embracing automation, modular service, hybrid delivery, and cross-sector collaboration — we may finally close the advice gap.

The demand is clear. The tools are here. The time is now to enable more Australians to access advice so they can be money smart, future ready and build better lives.

Midwinter provides a Dynamic Fact Find, client portal, powerful modelling tools, and ready-to-use advice templates — all designed to help you quickly generate Statements of Advice (SOAs) through an intuitive, user-friendly tool.

Talk to us today at Midwinter to simplify, automate and grow. Unlock the future of advice.