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Financial Planners

Financial Planners: directory of firms

Financial planner and financial adviser describe the same regulated role in Australia. Moneysmart treats financial planning as personal advice from a registered financial adviser who has considered one or more of your objectives, financial situation or needs, covering areas such as wealth accumulation, retirement planning and protecting your income and family.

Browse financial planners by city, and see what to check before you hire.

Find financial planners by city

This kind of work is often limited to licensed or registered professionals. Ask for their licence or registration number before you share any details.

Directory only

LokalMatch doesn’t take requests for financial planners in Australia and doesn’t pass your details to anyone. Firms are listed as a directory: compare them and contact the ones you choose directly. LokalMatch doesn’t recommend any firm.

Paid listings and paid requests aren’t switched on for this service in Australia.

On this page

What distinguishes a planning engagement from a one-off recommendation is the shape of it: a defined scope, a written plan, and usually an ongoing review cycle. The scope you agree drives the cost, so deciding upfront whether you want a comprehensive plan or advice on a single issue is the most effective way to control what you pay.

It is worth knowing what financial planning is not. Financial counselling is a free and confidential service offered by not-for-profit community organisations for people in financial hardship; counsellors help with budgeting, negotiating with creditors and finding emergency support, and do not give personal product advice. If you are in crisis or cannot pay bills, that is the right first call, not a planner.

Comprehensive, scaled, one-off and ongoing

  • Comprehensive advice looks across a range of topics at once and costs more because the scope is wider.
  • Scaled or limited advice deals with a single issue, and ASIC's guidance explicitly contemplates personal advice that is limited in scope.
  • One-off advice ends when the plan is delivered and implemented.
  • An ongoing relationship usually includes regular monitoring and reviews of your plan and affairs.
  • Some planners specialise by product, by life stage such as retirement, or by client type such as business owners, so match the specialty to the question you have.

What to take to a first planning meeting

A planner needs to understand your situation before giving personal advice: your age, whether you are in a relationship, whether you have dependants, your objectives and how you plan to meet them. Bringing the paperwork saves a whole round of follow-up.

  • Recent bank statements and your budget or spending records.
  • Superannuation statements from every fund you hold.
  • Existing insurance policies, inside and outside super.
  • Details of debts, loans and credit cards.
  • Payslips or other income details.
  • A written list of what you want the advice to achieve, and any questions you want answered.

Signs the planning relationship is not working

  • One solution is pushed no matter what your goals are.
  • You feel pressured to sign documents you do not understand.
  • The advice does not match your stated goals or your risk level.
  • How the planner earns money, or what the advice costs, is never made clear.
  • You feel uncomfortable asking questions.
  • You are charged for advice or services you never received.

Annual consent to ongoing advice fees

Australia's ongoing fee rules are strict and easy to overlook. Every year an adviser must seek your written consent to charge ongoing advice fees, and must give you details of the services you will receive and the fees you will pay during the coming year. This can happen in a meeting or electronically.

That consent is your control point. Ask when you next have to opt in and when the planner will remind you. If fees are deducted from a bank account, investment account or super fund and you want them to stop, contact the provider directly as well as the planner.

What an annual review should actually cover

If you are paying an ongoing advice fee, the planner should review your financial situation and meet you at least once a year. Tell them when something significant changes, a new job, a child, a shift in income, rather than waiting for the scheduled meeting.

  • Changes to your goals, income, expenses or assets.
  • Whether the level of risk you are comfortable with has changed.
  • How you are tracking against the goals in the plan.
  • Whether the investments you hold are still appropriate for you.
  • Whether your personal insurance cover still suits your needs.
  • Whether changes to laws or products affect you, and whether you received everything the agreement promised.

Financial planning, financial counselling and factual information

Financial planning is paid personal advice from a registered adviser about strategy and, where appropriate, products. Financial counselling is free, confidential and aimed at hardship, and counsellors do not give personal product advice. Factual information, such as a product feature or a calculator, is neither.

Planners are also not the only channel. Advice can be delivered face to face, by phone or video, or through digital advice services that use algorithms and often no direct human involvement. Whatever the channel, the first personal advice on a topic is generally documented in a Statement of Advice.

Ending an agreement and moving to another planner

You can end the agreement whenever you want. Check the ongoing fee terms for notice periods or exit fees first, then put the termination in writing and keep a copy.

Then close the loop properly: cancel any authorities you gave, such as transaction authorities or access to accounts; stop the ongoing fees with the planner and with any product provider deducting them; and ask for copies of your documents so the handover is simple. Have a new adviser review the existing Statement of Advice rather than starting from a blank page.

Financial Planners: frequently asked questions

Is a financial planner different from a financial adviser?

In Australia the terms are used for the same regulated role. Moneysmart describes financial planning as personal advice from a registered financial adviser, also known as a financial planner. Either way, the person must be authorised under an AFS licence and appear on the Financial Advisers Register to give you personal advice on investments, super or life insurance.

How much does a financial plan cost?

It depends on how complex your situation is, the type of advice, whether you want one-off or ongoing support, and the adviser's fee structure. Single-issue or limited advice is usually cheaper than comprehensive advice. Ask for the total cost in dollars, what you pay upfront, what you pay each year, and what product fees sit on top.

Do I have to pay for the first meeting?

Financial advisers do not usually charge for the first meeting, and Moneysmart suggests meeting a few to compare what they offer. You are not obliged to go further than that meeting. If the services do not look like good value, you can end the relationship there.

What is financial counselling and is it free?

Yes, and it is a different service entirely. Counsellors work at not-for-profit community organisations, help people in hardship with budgeting, creditor negotiations and emergency support, and charge nothing. They do not recommend products. Moneysmart lists free counsellors by location, and you can use one while deciding whether paid advice is worth it later.

How often should I meet my planner?

If you pay an ongoing advice fee, the planner should review your situation and meet you at least once a year. Use that meeting to check changes to your goals and finances, your risk tolerance, your progress, whether your investments and insurance still suit you, and whether you received the services you paid for.

Sources

  1. ASIC's Moneysmart - What is financial advice
  2. ASIC's Moneysmart - Working with a financial adviser
  3. ASIC's Moneysmart - Choosing a financial adviser
  4. ASIC's Moneysmart - Problems with a financial adviser
  5. ASIC - Giving financial product advice

Written by the LokalMatch editorial team. Last reviewed 22 September 2026. How we write and check our guides

Find financial planners by city

Australian Capital Territory

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New South Wales

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Northern Territory

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Queensland

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South Australia

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Tasmania

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Victoria

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Western Australia

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What affects the fees financial planners charge

Fees depend on the work involved and how the professional bills. We only publish fee ranges when they’re backed by real LokalMatch data or reliable sources. Until then, here’s what usually changes the fee:

  • Scope and complexity of the work
  • How the professional bills: hourly, flat fee or retainer
  • Experience and seniority of the person doing the work
  • Deadlines and how urgent the work is
  • Third-party costs such as filing, registration or government fees

How to compare financial planners before you hire

  • Check that they are licensed or registered for this work where you live, on the regulator’s public register.
  • Look for experience with matters like yours, and ask who will actually handle your file.
  • Ask how they charge before any work starts, and get the terms in writing.
  • Compare two or three professionals before you decide.
  • Be wary of anyone who guarantees a particular outcome.

Questions to ask financial planners before you hire

  • Are you licensed or registered for this work, and with which body?
  • Have you handled matters like mine before?
  • Who will do the work, and who will I deal with day to day?
  • How do you charge: hourly, a flat fee or a retainer?
  • What is included in your fee, and what costs extra?
  • Will you confirm the scope and fees in a written engagement letter?
  • Do you carry professional liability insurance?

Licences and registration

This kind of work is often limited to licensed or registered professionals, and the rules depend on where you are. Ask which body they’re registered with, and check their status on that body’s public register before you hire.

Guides about financial planning

Related professional services