I’m old enough to remember the good old days when you could hit up a financial planner for some free advice at a barbecue or tempt them to join that old debate of shares versus property.
Those days are largely gone because financial advisers are now very thin on the ground—what was once a booming profession has become quite the reverse.
Indeed, the shortage of financial planners has become so acute as the silver tsunami of retiring workers starts in earnest that the Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA) has made a submission to have an occupational shortage officially noted.
Shortage Dates Back to 2019
FAAA chief executive Sarah Abood said there is "substantial evidence" of a skills shortage in financial advice, something which has "plagued our profession since 2019".
In the submission to the Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) consultation on the 2026 Occupation Shortage List Stakeholder Survey, Ms Abood noted that the number of financial advisers and paraplanners continues to fall well short of demand at a time when Australians are increasingly seeking financial advice to improve household financial wellbeing, retirement outcomes, and broader economic stability.
She also pointed out that looking just at advertised job vacancies won’t reveal the severe shortage of financial planners.
Retiring Planners Not Being Replaced
Ms Abood said the advice industry is really struggling with a decline in adviser numbers which is not being offset by new entrants.
Other factors include a long training gap and legislated professional year requirements which create a four-year structural lag in workforce supply and the rising demand for advice with millions of Australians unable to gain access.
It seems the aftermath of the Royal Commission into banking, superannuation and financial services potentially made the regulatory wall too high for new financiasl planners to climb.
"The number of financial advisers has declined dramatically since the start of 2019, following significant regulatory and education reforms," Ms Abood said.
"This decline is structural, not cyclical. Retirement of older financial advisers, regulatory change driven exits, and the lengthy qualification process for new entrants all contribute."
With consumer needs for financial advice rising, the result was a widening gap between supply and demand.
The FAAA said the demand for advice is growing with an estimated 15.9 million Australian adults with unmet advice needs with 1.3 million people planning to see an adviser in the next two years.
Retirees Left with Nowhere to Go
"Research has also indicated that demand is particularly acute among Australians approaching retirement, who require advice on superannuation, retirement income strategies, estate planning, and later with respect to aged care," Ms Abood said.
"At the same time, younger Australians increasingly seek advice on investments, debt management, and first-home purchases, while families and small business owners look for support on cashflow, insurance, and succession planning."
Further, the process for new entrants is long and arduous, typically taking at least four to five years from commencement of study to full registration.
Uni Courses Disappearing
"Many universities are delisting onshore financial planning courses due to low enrolments - six courses were discontinued during 2025," Ms Abood added.
The pipeline of new financial advisers remains small with just 569 new entrants in 2025, while 700 to 1,000 advisers retire annually.
"Retiring adviser numbers will not be reflected in job vacancies as some may be sole traders/SMEs who shut their doors or sell their business to another financial adviser or firm—rather than their exit a job creating an open position for someone else to fill," she said.
"The combined loss of experienced professionals, low numbers of new graduates, and scarce Professional Year placement positions means that there are not enough applicants with the qualifications to be registered and employed as financial advisers. This is caused by a long training gap, not a suitability gap.”
"This means workforce shortages are set to continue for the foreseeable future. This context should be reflected in the JSA data analysis for skills shortage."
