Australian CFP numbers decline

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor and Publisher

17 July 2025

The number of Certified Financial Planners (CFPs) in Australia has declined to 4,352, according to the latest annual report of the Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB), down from the 4,437 reported a year ago.

The latest number, contained in the FPSB’s 2024 annual report, compares to the 4,437 number as at 30 June, last year, contained in the Financial Advice Association of Australia’s last annual report.

This then compares to the 4,966 Australian CFPs the FAAA reported for 2021 and appears to reflect the reality of substantial decline in overall financial adviser numbers over the past five years.

Relative to the decline in overall financial adviser numbers, the number of CFPs has held up reasonably well.

The decline in numbers reflected in the FPSB’s latest report comes despite the FAAA reporting last year that it had received 153 new applications by advisers seeking the designation.

The CFP designation has traditionally represented a solid revenue generator for the FAAA.

The chief executive of the FPSB and former Financial Planning Association of Australia chief executive, Dante DeGori pointed to a 3.1% increase in the number of CFPs globally to 230,648.

While numbers decline in Australia, the organisation pointed to growth in the US, Brazil, Japan, India and South Africa.