Advisers’ expectations low leading up to budget but clients still have concerns

Viridian Advisory’s latest poll of its advisers has revealed that aged care policies are among the primary concerns being raised by their clients as Australians prepare for the 2025–26 federal budget announcement set for Tuesday night.

Additionally, Viridian found that the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and housing shortage is also on Australians’ minds, particularly as these are likely to be hot topics in the upcoming federal election, expected to take place in May.

Looking from the advisers’ perspective, more than eight in 10 (82 per cent) said they were “neither optimistic nor pessimistic towards the upcoming federal budget”.

This sentiment is somewhat expected as the government hadn’t initially planned on delivering a full budget, originally intending to hold the election in April before the arrival of Cyclone Alfred in Queensland forced them to push it back, meaning there is less known about what to expect from the budget than usual.

Comparatively, last year, the government had all but announced many of the big ticket items in the budget in the weeks leading up to its official release. Unfortunately, advisers were particularly underwhelmed last year as sweet potatoes received more mentions than financial advice.

However, with the 2025–26 budget just hours away now, Viridian said advisers are intrigued to see what the government unveils in the superannuation space, including the anticipated adjustments to the Division 296 tax threshold.

When it comes to how the budget will impact client portfolios, almost all (96 per cent) of the advisers surveyed stated they are anticipating minimal shifts in asset allocations, which the firm said indicated a “firm commitment to stable asset allocation during uncertain times”.

Despite this, advisers have reported an uptick in client enquiries related to the budget with aged care and housing pressures as the leading themes raised.

Other concerns were largely focused on economic areas such as market volatility due to tariffs, interest rates, debt levels and the impact of the US Trump administration on the Australian market.

Speaking on the findings, Viridian co-founder and general manager of advice Brett Arnol said that while they don’t expect to see any significant impact on client portfolios as a result of the budget, they do hope to see “concrete commitments” that address clients’ concerns, such as childcare, education and Medicare.