policy

Search and destroy
Geoff Wilson's first rule of investing is pretty simple: don't lose money. If you want to know the second and third rules, refer back to the first. While the particulars of his investment philosophy have evolved over the past 50 years – and more on that in a bit – that first rule is sacrosanct. And it’s exactly what led…
Why super funds shouldn’t meddle in adviser-client relationships
As financial advisers, we all want the best for our clients as they move into retirement. The government’s latest consultation on superannuation retirement income solutions is meant to help retirees get better outcomes, more choice and clearer information. On the surface, that’s something we can all get behind. As I read…
The hidden truth in Australia's inheritance tax debate
Australia doesn’t have an inheritance tax – at least, not officially. But heading into 2026, the debate is heating up again, and financial advisers would be wise to pay attention. While many Australians assume their estate planning is simple in a country without death duties, the reality is far more complex. The largest…
How the new Aged Care Act impacts advisers
Australia’s aged care system is about to change in ways that will materially affect retirement plans, cash-flow strategies and advice conversations. A new Aged Care Act commences on 1 November 2025, introducing increased rights for older Australians and a strengthened regulatory model. Most importantly, though, it brings…
The bleak future of the CSLR
The FAAA saw merit in a comprehensive review of what went wrong at Dixon Advisory and why so much money was lost by so many clients. As it stands, the largest 10 financial institutions have already paid $203 million into the CSLR for Dixon Advisory claims alone. The advice profession, or whoever else pays the special levy,…
This is tomorrow calling
“Sometimes, you need to be a bit provocative.” As a mission statement for the Financial Services Council’s Value and future of advice licensing green paper, that might seem a little reductive. For FSC CEO Blake Briggs, though, it gets the point across. If you haven’t already, you can read the full paper here. It goes into…
Pretty hate machine
Confession time: back when I was a trade journalist during the Royal Commission, I never found the “few bad apples” defence very persuasive. Not because of any strongly-held convictions, mind you; it’s just that the pedant in me couldn’t tolerate an idiom being so woefully misused. If someone mentioned bad apples without…
Shield and First Guardian – the next "black swans"
Concerns about potential future large-scale CSLR matters were reinforced by a recent media release from the operator of the scheme. While the media release was focused on an underspend of the 2024/25 CSLR levy, it included a clear warning: “Beyond [Dixon Advisory], the CSLR has seen multiple large-scale firm failures…
The $3m super tax won’t just impact billionaires
The pitch was simple – tax super balances over $3 million – but the reality is far more complex and structurally disruptive than initially communicated. Division 296, positioned as a fairness initiative, is set to materially impact the way advisers approach superannuation strategy, asset allocation and retirement planning…
Six more months
You've probably seen the news. Over the weekend, [Labor/the Coalition] secured a [decisive/tentative] victory in the federal election. [Defying all odds/in a surprising rebuke to exit poll figures/in line with most predictions/as foretold in prophecy], [Anthony Albanese/Peter Dutton] has been [elected/reelected] as prime…
United States of whatever
Here's something for you to ponder: does an ambition to reinvent the financial advice profession predispose one to a role in Treasury, or does a Treasury role naturally engender those ambitions? Put another way, do the clothes maketh the man? Does the egg precede the chicken? Perhaps it's too early in the day to reach a…
What’s the latest on DBFO tranche 2?
I jumped onto Advisely last Thursday to answer all your questions about DBFO and the regulatory changes that could impact advice businesses this year. Here are five of the most interesting conversations that came out of this AMA: Q: Has there been any movement with getting a generic fee consent form drafted? The honest…
Over and out
Last week, the CSLR released an initial levy estimate of $77.9 million for the 2026 financial year. The advice industry’s share of the bill amounts to around $70 million – which is, for those keeping score, well over the $20 million subsector cap enshrined in the Financial Services Compensation Scheme of Last Resort Levy…
The king of wishful thinking
I've made a decision: 2025 will forevermore be known as the Year of Simple in financial services. Now, on the off chance humanity's successors come upon this piece at some point in the distant future – presumably while scouring the wind-scorched ruins of Barangaroo for cast-off Nvidia GPUs to power their digestion matrices…
CSLR – lack of impact analysis and FOI response
While the FAAA's primary concerns about the design and implementation of the CSLR have been the retrospective application of the scheme and the Government only paying for the first three months – rather than 12 months as initially committed – we are also angry about the failure to appropriately disclose what the CSLR would…
What did the Government do to understand the cost of the CSLR?
The advice profession has every reason to be furious about the handling of the CSLR legislation. My latest article sets out one more reason why that is the case. The Government is required, when introducing legislation, to undertake an Impact Analysis, in order to understand the consequences of the legislation, including…
The olive tranche
We can finally declare a victor in the race between the DBFO's second tranche and the heat death of the universe. It was a close call, sure, but Stephen Jones managed to eke out a win just as the last few celestial bodies were fusing into cold spheres of iron. Of the black holes in attendance, most were seen graciously…
Why NCA?
When captured by the cyclops, Polyphemus, Odysseus is careful not to reveal his name. Names are powerful things, after all – refer to the case of Miller’s Daughter v Rumpelstiltskin [1812] to get the full CPD hour – and our hero knows better than to hand that kind of leverage over to Poseidon’s one-eyed son. So, he gives…
Requiem for a scheme
You've likely come across the idea of regulations being written in blood. It's typically used in reference to aviation safety standards, but it can be adapted to pretty much any regulatory reform – at the appropriate viewing distance, anyway. You'd imagine, for example, that the shattered windshield preceded the mandatory…
Removing the safe harbour steps empowers advisers
One of the “under the radar” recommendations from the second tranche of the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes (DBFO) is the removal of the safe harbour steps (SHS). We fully support the removal of the SHS and believe that, if effectively managed by licensees and the broader advice industry, it can significantly empower…
Removing the safe harbour steps empowers advisers
One of the “under the radar” recommendations from the second tranche of the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes (DBFO) is the removal of the safe harbour steps (SHS). We fully support the removal of the SHS and believe that, if effectively managed by licensees and the broader advice industry, it can significantly empower…
What is the purpose of the CSLR?
Advisely expert and FAAA general manager policy, advocacy & standards Phil Anderson recently jumped onto Advisely to answer all your burning questions on Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR). Here are five of the most interesting conversations that came out of his AMA: Q: What is the purpose of CSLR really? I don't…
Does DBFO reduce the cost to serve?
Advisely expert and FAAA general manager policy, advocacy & standards, Phil Anderson recently jumped onto Advisely to answer all your burning questions on the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes (DBFO) package – the Government’s response to the Quality of Advice Review (QAR) recommendations. Here are six of the most…
The curious case of ASIC vs Dixon Advisory and why an inquiry is needed
The Dixon Advisory scandal is huge with thousands of impacted clients and multiple hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. It will have a substantial impact on the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort. Evidently little has been done to get to the bottom of what really happened. This article addresses the legal action that…
The kid stays in the picture
Just so we’re clear: the Mad Max films are, and always have been, set in Australia. They were all shot in Australia, too – aside from Fury Road, of course, which had to be relocated to Namibia due to a surprise wildflower bloom near Broken Hill. I had assumed all of this was common knowledge, but given the appearance of…
Boiling point
Do you remember the “Royal Commission pipeline”? If not, a brief recap: in a Senate committee hearing back in 2021, then-ASIC deputy chair Karen Chester used the term to describe the financial services enforcement activities the regulator undertook following the Royal Commission. She cited these activities, and the costs…
Stand on the word
Could passage of the first tranche of QAR reforms hinge on an apostrophe? Probably not – but after yesterday’s Senate committee hearing, you really do have to marvel at the disruptive capacity of one little punctuation mark. Specifically, it’s the one before the “s” in both paragraphs (1)(a) and (1)(b) of the proposed…
Emission impossible
Given the supposed urgency of the Government's advice reform package – described as "vital" nearly a year ago by Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones – you'd be forgiven for thinking the industry might make a showing in the 2024 Budget. Alas: nothing. Across the four Budget papers, comprising 999 pages (I counted), financial…

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