Reinstate accountants’ advice exemption says IFPA

Mike Taylor

Managing Editor and Publisher

16 June 2026

A simple legislative tweak could rapidly expand access to affordable retirement advice by allowing up to 30,000 qualified accountants back into the advice market, according to the Institute of Financial Professionals Australia (IFPA).

It is proposing the restoration of modified version of the accountants’ exemption.

IFPA president and chairman, Scott Heathwood says his organisation is calling on the Government to urgently act on the issue claiming that allowing accountants into the arena would not dilute professional standards.

“We have a growing population heading into retirement with complex superannuation and tax needs but not enough advisers to help them,” Mr Heathwood said. “The fastest and safest way to fix this is to let appropriately qualified accountants’ step back into carefully defined areas of superannuation advice.”

Heathwood said the education and professional reforms following the Hayne Royal Commission had lifted standards but unintentionally shrunk adviser numbers, leaving many Australians unable to access timely, affordable advice.

“Demand keeps rising, but the supply of advisers has gone backwards,” he said. “We are now in a position where the advice market is more credentialed on paper, but less accessible in practice – that is a policy failure, not a success story.”

Heathwood said it is IFPA’s position that accountants are uniquely placed to fill the gap because they are already deeply involved in their clients’ financial lives, particularly around superannuation.

“Accountants do the tax work, the compliance work and the structural planning work around super,” Heathwood said. “They understand their clients’ circumstances in detail – yet they are prohibited from taking the final step and providing the advice their clients clearly need”.

The removal of the accountants’ exemption in 2016 and the complexity of the replacement limited licensing regime prompted many accountants to exit the personal advice space, despite their experience and qualifications.

“The Government has a straightforward lever,” Mr Heathwood said. “Restore a modernised version of the old accountants’ exemption, covering clearly defined areas of superannuation advice provided by recognised accounting professionals. It leaves every consumer protection in place while giving Australians access to the affordable super advice they need.”

The proposed scope would focus on:

• Contribution strategies
• Transition to retirement strategies
• Account based pensions
• Structural and tax effective retirement decisions

Investment advice, including portfolio construction, asset allocation and managed funds selection, would remain the domain of fully licensed financial advisers.

“This is about regulatory proportionality,” Heathwood said. “Match the licence to the task, recognise the competence that already exists, and stop treating experienced accountants as if they are new entrants starting from zero.”