Financial Advisors: directory of firms

The register is the single most useful check an Australian consumer can make. You can search it by name, number or ABN, or by suburb or postcode to find someone nearby; the postcode results are randomised and in no particular order. It shows where an adviser has worked, their qualifications and training, memberships of professional bodies, the product types they can advise on, and their registration status.

It also shows disciplinary history: bannings, disqualifications, enforceable undertakings, and orders made by the Financial Services and Credit Panel including registration suspension or prohibition orders, infringement orders and directions such as an order to undertake training. Licensees supply the information and must update it within 30 business days of a change; ASIC does not check it before it is published, so treat it as a starting point, not a reference.

ASIC has administered the financial adviser exam since 1 January 2022, with the Australian Council for Educational Research developing and delivering it. It lasts three and a half hours including fifteen minutes of reading time, is open book for statutory materials, and tests regulatory and legal requirements, advice construction, and applied ethical reasoning against the Code of Ethics.

The qualifications standard sits in section 921B of the Corporations Act, with approved degrees listed in a ministerial determination. Advisers who were existing providers generally had until 1 January 2026 to meet it. On top of that, relevant providers must complete 40 hours of continuing professional development each year, and those providing tax (financial) advice services must include at least five hours in that area.

Before advice starts you should receive a Financial Services Guide, which sets out the services offered, the fees, any links to product providers, commissions earned and how the firm deals with complaints. It should be on the firm's website; if it is not, ask for it. Providing entities that give financial product advice to retail clients are required under Part 7.7 of the Corporations Act to provide an FSG or make website disclosure information available.

If you proceed, the adviser prepares a Statement of Advice setting out the recommendations, why they are being made and the steps to take. Check that it lists your assets, debts, income and expenses accurately, explains what the advice does and does not cover, shows every fee and who receives it, discloses commissions and conflicts, and states any benefits you would lose by acting on it.

Advice providers giving personal advice to retail clients must comply with the best interests duty and related obligations in Division 2 of Part 7.7A of the Corporations Act. The Code of Ethics reinforces it with twelve high-level standards, including acting in clients' best interests, avoiding conflicts of interest, ensuring informed consent, and ensuring clients clearly agree to the fees they will pay.

Separately, the conflicted remuneration provisions in Divisions 4 and 5 of Part 7.7A restrict benefits that could reasonably be expected to influence advice given to retail clients. ASIC's Regulatory Guide 246 sets out how it administers them. Advisers giving personal advice about insurance need your consent to receive commissions on the product they sell you, including life, general and consumer credit insurance.

Complain first to the AFS licensee that authorises the adviser. Under the internal dispute resolution rules they must acknowledge your complaint within 14 days and give a final response within 45 days. If you are not satisfied, take it to AFCA, which is free, independent, and binding on the firm once you accept a determination.

If the firm collapses and an AFCA determination goes unpaid, the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort may pay compensation of up to 150,000 Australian dollars. The scheme covers personal financial advice to retail clients, securities dealing for retail clients, credit intermediation and credit provision. It exists because the Hayne Royal Commission and the Ramsay Review found that existing arrangements left victims uncompensated.