The Advisers Association (TAA) has called on the industry to work together to find a business model that will take the profession forward.

TAA advocates on behalf of financial advisers licensed by AMP Financial Planning and Hillross Financial Services to promote greater awareness of and access to financial advice for everyday Australians.

It made the call for a new financial advice model after the Federal Government announced last week that it will temporarily freeze the levy that advisers have to pay for the next two years to support the corporate regulator’s supervision activities.

CEO Neil Macdonald says while the levy relief is a “welcome” measure for advisers, the time has come for the industry to collaborate on a new business model.

“It is vital to find a way for all vested interests in our community to genuinely collaborate so that we move forward,” he said. “We need to collectively agree on, and collectively design, a new model for financial advice.”

He says the new model must be sustainable and built around having “the client at its core”. It must also facilitate the efficient and cost-effective delivery of financial advice to Australians, providing them with the right level of protections.

Mr Macdonald says TAA is “heartened” by the Government’s promise to look into the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (ASIC) industry funding model.

The way levies are calculated have come under heavy criticism from various adviser peak bodies since the funding scheme came into effect in July 2017.

The storm of criticism accelerated after ASIC released its Cost Recovery Implementation Statement in July for the supervision work it carried out in the 2020/21 financial year.

Estimates provided in the cost recovery statement show a further 31% rise in levy on the advice sector from the previous year, according to the Financial Planning Association.

The review into the funding model will commence next year and will be undertaken in consultation with the Department of Finance and ASIC.