CA-ANZ puts accountant advice delivery top of election wish list

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor and Publisher

13 February 2025

The Corporations Regulations 2001 should be amended by the next Federal Government to allow a qualified accountant, who is a member of one of the major accounting bodies, to give financial advice, according to Chartered Accountants ANZ.

The major accounting group has placed the ability of accountants to deliver advice at the top of its 2025 Federal Election policy wish list.

It is the second time in a month that an accounting group has canvassed the Government legislating to allow accountant advice delivery.

CA-ANZ said that the Government should “enable all Australians to access financial advice by allowing qualified accountants to provide it”.

“Australians should be able to plan their retirement journey without hassle or complication,” it said. “However, it is almost impossible for anyone to work out on their own how all the different superannuation, taxation, age pension and aged care regulatory settings work together and how to produce the best possible outcome over the long-term.”

“This complexity has created a void where 11.8 million Australians are seeking advice, but there are not enough financial advisers to meet the demand.”

“Chartered accountants are highly trained and skilled professionals who can solve this issue, but the regulatory environment needs urgent reform to allow CA-ANZ members in public practice to support their clients with their everyday financial challenges,” it said.

Elsewhere in its wish list, CA-ANZ called for the scrapping of the annual super cap “to build superannuation and improve women’s financial security”.

“People with broken work patterns are unfairly disadvantaged when it comes to building their superannuation balances,” it said. “This largely affects women who step away from work to have and care for children or other relatives, subsequently impacting their ability to build their superannuation.”

“Scrapping the annual superannuation cap is a significant and practical step towards building and safeguarding superannuation in Australia, while improving women’s financial security,” CA-ANZ.

It urged the Government to task the Productivity Commission with researching a range of possible lifetime contribution amounts and a potential timeframe for achieving the revised amounts equitably and fairly.

It said the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) should also be tasked with designing the legislative basis to ensure income tax and superannuation law work harmoniously together.