Keddie Waller

The SMSF Association says Australia’s fragmented regulatory framework governing professional advice needs urgent reform, warning that SMSF professionals are being constrained by outdated structures that no longer reflect how Australians seek and receive advice.

Speaking at the Association’s Technical Summit, Policy Manager, Keddie Waller, had a clear message for SMSF professionals in the audience: “Our members are doing everything they can to support clients across all stages of life – but they’re being held back by a regulatory system built in silos. The system needs to evolve.”

Waller’s session, “Do you know where the line is when providing advice?”, unpacked the complex boundaries between tax, financial planning, legal and accounting advice – highlighting how SMSF professionals are often placed in impossible situations, expected to provide guidance on matters where they are not licensed or authorised to give advice.

“Clients don’t understand the regulatory lines – they see a trusted adviser. And when that adviser can’t meet their needs, or worse, oversteps and risks a breach, both parties lose. It’s time we fix the framework so that trusted professionals can give the advice Australians need,” Waller said.

The Association has long advocated for a more flexible, principles-based model of professional advice – one that better reflects the real-world needs of clients and enables professionals to support them through significant life events such as starting a business, funding aged care or managing family wealth.

These themes echoed throughout the Summit. Business Depot Legal’s Neal Dallas and Victoria Mercer’s session on ethical dilemmas in SMSF advice underscored how easily professionals can come unstuck when legal duties collide with moral pressure. Aged Care Step’s Louise Biti’s keynote session on aged care reinforced the urgent need for licensed advisers to step into the gap left by a system that has failed to keep pace with demographic reality.

“The advice gap isn’t closing – it’s widening. We need a smarter regulatory approach that allows qualified professionals to help Australians when and how they need it,” Waller said.

As the voice of the SMSF sector, the Association reaffirmed its commitment to working with government, regulators and industry partners to reshape the advice landscape for the betterment of the community.

The post Advice wrapped in red tape: SMSF industry calls for reform to meet consumers’ needs appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Keddie Waller

Accountants need to get on the front foot and prepare for the sweeping reforms in the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) regime taking effect on 1 July 2026, the 2025 SMSF Association National Conference was told.

This was the message from Kath Bowler, General Manager of the law firm Holley Nethercote, and Keddie Waller, Policy Manager at the SMSF Association, delivered during their concurrent session titled Don’t Get Caught Out: AML/CTF Reforms Every Accountant and Adviser Must Know.

Common services such as setting up trusts, including SMSFs, handling client payments and facilitating debt or asset financing will be regulated for the first time, requiring accountants providing these services to enrol with AUSTRAC and comply with the new obligations.

Bowler and Waller told delegates that the 2026 launch of Tranche 2 of the AML/CTF regime – which are aimed at strengthening the regime to deter, detect and disrupt money laundering – would implement some of the most significant regulatory reforms in years.

“Importantly, it’s not about who you are, it’s about what you do.”

“Those AFS licensees who are currently caught by the AML/CTF regime and rely on the ‘item 54 designated services’ exemption,  may no longer be able to rely on the exemption and will be required to comply with all AML/CTF obligations.”

“Financial advisers who are eligible to continue operating under the exemption will be required to update their existing policies and procedures to comply with the amended requirements by 31 March 2026.

“No different to accountants, it means all financial advisers must reassess the services they provide against the new designated services.”

Bowler and Waller said it was imperative for accountants and advisers to identify how the new regulations will affect their businesses to determine if they will be regulated and what they need to do to ensure they are compliant with their obligations. This is important to mitigate business risks and avoid potential penalties for non-compliance.

“They need to begin making key decisions now so they can start taking steps to develop and implement an effective compliant framework tailored to their practice.

“It will be critical not to leave it until the last minute. If they provide a designated service before enrolling, there’s only 28 days to enrol and comply with a range of statutory obligations to avoid civil penalties. Don’t think this is a 2026 problem – there are practical steps to take now for a smoother transition to the new regime.”

The post SMSF Association National Conference warns accountants to prepare for anti-money laundering reforms appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Nick Eatock

intelliflo, the global cloud-based technology solution for financial advisers, has today released Advice, evolved: A new era in Australian financial advice, a whitepaper detailing the major themes that will characterise the next five years of advice.  

With only one-in-10 Australians currently advised, and most people unwilling to pay the cost for full financial advice, there is a critical issue facing Australia: how to get more people the advice they need, when they need it, at a price point they can afford. 

The whitepaper is the product of a dynamic roundtable in Sydney late last year, featuring seven esteemed participants representing technological innovation, policy, advice and consulting: intelliflo CEO Nick Eatock, Adviser Ratings founder Angus Woods, financial services policy expert Keddie Waller, Product Rex founder Nick Topham, Finura Group managing director Peter Worn, ensombl CEO Clayton Daniels, and The Financial Adviser Scale Squad founder Adele Martin.

The aim of the roundtable was to move beyond the much discussed topics of compliance burdens and low adviser numbers, and instead visualise how the financial advice sector will need to articulate its value and purpose to a growing pool of potential clients as an intergenerational transfer of wealth gathers pace.

Nick Eatock, CEO and co-founder of intelliflo, said the whitepaper examines how the advice profession will move to become more customer-centric in the coming years, thanks to new technology, changing demands, and demographic shifts.

“Australia’s advice profession is at a crossroads. On one hand, technology is reshaping the delivery of advice, streamlining processes, and enabling a more scalable approach. On the other, the human connection –the very essence of our value proposition – remains irreplaceable,” he said.

“With that in mind, the future involves technology complimenting human advice delivery, so that advisers can reach more customers, while saving on time and costs. Clients, meanwhile, will receive a richer experience, with technological tools to keep them engaged over the longer term.

“Over the next five years, we expect the advice profession to reach many more Australians, as advisers embrace new technology, and customers navigate intergenerational wealth transfer.”

The whitepaper identified seven key themes for advisers and financial advice practices to consider:

• Changing the perception of advice: Working collectively as a profession to create universal understanding about how advice can add value and finding ways to continually improve the client experience.
• Adopting consumer-friendly payment models: Meeting evolving consumer expectations by embracing new methods of payment, including trials and a PayPal-style model.  
• Technology as the foundation: Incorporating technology to slash costs, give clients flexibility and future-proof advice businesses.  
• The next frontier: An adviser-led system: Creating an adviser and client-first model, which proactively advocates for clients’ best interests through self-regulation and product design.  
• Reaching more Australians through scale: Using super funds and M&A activity to ensure millions more have access to advice.  
• Building a whole-of-life pathway: Reaching consumers at critical life stages to ensure they are prepared for the future with quality advice. 
• Engaging young people: Preparing for the biggest intergenerational wealth transfer in history by ensuring young people can engage with advice in a way they choose to.  

For advisers, each chapter of the whitepaper features a series of action items to meet the emerging needs of the next generation, including using AI to further personalise the client experience, building professional profiles in innovative ways, creating free financial education content to drive prospects, and employing technology to engage clients with portals and customised alerts.

Read the whitepaper.

The post Advice, evolved: intelliflo whitepaper reveals the themes set to transform financial advice  appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Keddie Waller

The SMSF Association has appointed Keddie Waller as Policy Manager, strengthening its advocacy and policy work at a time of significant government reforms impacting the SMSF sector. Keddie is highly respected in the financial planning and accounting industries, having spent many years with CPA Australia, including most recently as the Senior Manager for Public Practice, Financial Planning & Ethics Policy.

Waller, has a Master of Financial Planning from Deakin University and a Diploma in Financial Planning from the Financial Advice Association Australia, bringing a wealth of experience as a seasoned policy manager and accomplished submission writer to the Association.

Waller “I am joining the SMSF Association at a pivotal time for the industry. With the ongoing reforms in financial advice and the broader accounting profession, I look forward to contributing to its efforts in advocating for policies that support members and strengthen the SMSF sector.”

SMSF Association CEO Peter Burgess said: “Keddie’s appointment significantly bolsters our capacity in the advocacy and policy space at a time when government advocacy and advice policy reform has never been more crucial for our members and the SMSF sector.

“Keddie’s extensive experience with accountants and her deep understanding of the accounting and advice profession will be instrumental in our efforts to bridge the affordable advice gap and enhance the accessibility of quality advice, as we work to expand our multi-disciplinary membership base.

“Keddie’s knowledge of government policies affecting financial advisers and accountants makes her an invaluable asset for the Association, further evidence of our commitment to provide exceptional support to our members.”

The post Keddie Waller appointed as Policy Manager at SMSF Association appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Keddie Waller

Australians’ access to quality and affordable financial advice is under threat as the accounting profession feels the squeeze from regulatory burden, according to a report from CPA Australia.

The pressure on accountants to have multiple licences and fulfil countless hours in education is pushing costs to clients up and driving accountants out of the profession.

The Regulatory Burden Report, conducted by Core Data, shows of the one in four accountants who offer financial planning advice, more than a third (34.6%) are considering reducing the variety of services they offer, and a further 12.5 per cent are considering ceasing to offer financial planning advice due to regulatory burden.

CPA Australia is calling on the Government to streamline the existing regulatory framework to create clearer and appropriate regulation. Recommendations outlined in the report include the introduction of strategic financial planning advice as separate to product advice in order to tackle the growing advice gap. The Report also identifies consolidating Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements as a means to eliminate overlapping training requirements.

At present, 79 per cent of accounting firms spend more time each week attending to compliance than they did five years ago and 61 per cent spend more time than they did just a year ago.

Keddie Waller, Head of Public Practice at CPA Australia said, “Australians’ demand for financial planning services is strong but the number of financial advisers available to meet demand is declining due to pressure on accountants from excessive regulation.

“Regulation of the financial services industry plays an important role in protecting consumers, however we need to ensure all pieces of regulation are necessary and effective in servicing the public without hindering affordable access.

“The accounting profession and the public seeking access to accountants are facing a real crisis. As accountants depart the industry, they are not being replaced by new entrants at the same rate, and it leaves less advisers with experience to mentor new entrants requiring supervised experience as part of their qualifications.

According to the Regulatory Burden Report, accountants are trusted and preferred for financial advice if they have the necessary licences or registrations, however tax agents are frustrated by the limited scope with which they are allowed to operate and feel their client relationships are being tested when they are unable to advise on a simple financial matter.

Waller added, “This is being felt by consumers, with more than half of respondents saying they would not see a specialist if they had unmet personal advice needs because they do not want to incur additional costs. Over a third said they would do further research themselves if their accountant could not service their needs.”

Read the report.

The post Australians’ access to quality financial advice under threat appeared first on AdviserVoice.