Jones promises to clean up ‘Mickey Mouse job’ of advice education standards

On a new episode of the ifa Show, Mr Jones elaborated on comments he made last December when he said that his party would not require advisers with 10 years of experience and an “unblemished record” to complete a university degree to practice.

Currently, existing advisers with no degree must have an approved qualification by 1 January 2026.

“So, a new person entering the industry today, an appropriate degree qualification with additional professional stuff is absolutely the right model,” Mr Jones said.

“But we're in a transition and there'll be a bunch of people who've been providing excellent advice for decades that we don't want to tip them out of the industry at exactly the time when we need them.

“We need them as mentors, we need them as service providers, we need them as trainers, we need them in the industry,” he added.

The current requirements have been criticised by a number of groups within the sector, including the FPA, AFA and The Advisers Association, with CEO Neil Macdonald saying the industry will experience a “mass exodus” by 2026 if changes are not made.

The number of advisers in Australia shrank below 19,000 late last year and is predicted to reach 13,000 by the end of 2023.

“Let's take a step back and say, ‘let's do some recognition of their prior learning and experience, not a Mickey mouse job’. So we'll do it properly,” Mr Jones continued.

“There's been some concern in the sector for everyone who's done the degree that, ‘That was a waste of time for me when somebody else is going to get a free ride?’

“We're not saying it's a proper recognition of your professional experience and qualifications so that you can jump through the right hook for you in a way that is good for you, but safe for the people you're advising.

“That's the way we want to go. I think it just makes militant good sense to be honest.”

Listen to the full podcast with Mr Jones here.

Neil Griffiths

Neil is the Deputy Editor of the wealth titles, including ifa and InvestorDaily.

Neil is also the host of the ifa show podcast.