The Delivering Better Financial Outcomes (DBFO) reforms are a significant step in Australia’s effort to enhance the quality, transparency, and accessibility of financial advice. Introduced by the Australian Government as part of a broader financial services reform agenda, these laws aim to ensure that Australians receive better, fairer, and more affordable financial advice while maintaining strong consumer protections.

At the core of the DBFO laws is a focus on streamlining regulations that have previously made financial advice costly and complex, particularly for everyday Australians. The reforms seek to reduce unnecessary red tape for financial advisers, enabling them to spend more time with clients and less time on administrative tasks. This includes simplifying documentation requirements and clarifying the distinction between personal and general advice.

Another major element of the DBFO package is improving the accountability and professionalism of financial advisers. The laws support higher standards of conduct and ensure that advisers are acting in the best interests of their clients. This is particularly important for vulnerable consumers, including retirees, people with low financial literacy, and those making critical life decisions.

The DBFO reforms also build on recommendations from recent reviews, including the Hayne Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry. These reviews highlighted widespread issues in the financial advice sector, including conflicts of interest, fee-for-no-service arrangements, and poor consumer outcomes.

As a part of the ‘package, the Australian Government wants to introduce a new class of financial adviser. The new adviser model will ensure more Australians have access to quality, affordable financial advice to make the most of their retirement.

Making financial advice more accessible and affordable is critical to meeting the growing need for retirement advice, with more than 300,000 Australians expected to retire each year over the next five years.

Aware Super Chief Executive Deanne Stewart welcomed the government initiative and said Aware Super is already leading the industry with super helpful financial support for its 1.1+ million members.

“We know that when our members get help and advice, they feel more confident and are much more likely to take action that improves their retirement,” said Ms Stewart.
Advice reforms are crucial to uplifting retirement outcomes for Australians.

Introducing a new class of adviser, backed by a strong consumer protection framework, will unlock the ability for superannuation funds and other providers to deliver the help and guidance Australians need to confidently navigate their retirement.

Ms Stewart said Aware Super products can help members prepare for retirement, with tools such as My Retirement Planner TM that helps to calculate your income in retirement. It works by taking into account your current super balance, current income, investment returns, assets, debts, property and time left in the workforce.

It can then provide an informed prediction of your income for retirement. If the figure isn’t quite where you want it to be, you can adjust elements to see how they change your outcome by making additional contributions, reviewing your investment strategy or taking a longer transition to retirement.

Aware Super also provides the Retirement Guide, available to download for all Australians.

“It’s full of tips and real-life stories on preparing for retirement and leading your best life after a long career in the workforce,” said Ms Stewart.

Retirement can be daunting for many who worry about how much money they’ll have for retirement.

“When we speak to our members, we often hear that approaching retirement can be scary because of not knowing how things are going to work. And then when we speak to them again a couple years after retiring, they generally find that everything is going better than expected,” said Ms Stewart. “We also find that people who plan and prepare for retirement, by talking to a financial adviser and getting their affairs in order, are more confident approaching retirement.”