Solving the adviser shortage starts in the regions

Australia’s financial advice industry is at a turning point. The demand for quality financial guidance is rising rapidly, fuelled by an ageing population and the need to seek professional help to navigate increasingly complex superannuation legislation, succession planning, the inter-generational wealth transfer and retirement. But adviser numbers are heading in the opposite direction, and shrinking fast.

Since 2019, more than 10,000 advisers have left the industry. Many are retiring, and few are stepping-up to take their place. The result? A talent shortfall that’s not only stalling access to advice, but threatening the financial future of entire communities.

In metropolitan centres, the loss of an adviser might mean longer wait times for an appointment. In rural towns and regional cities across Australia, it can mean entire communities are left without access to professional financial guidance.

In these regional locations, advisers don’t just manage investments; they help to navigate the deep and often emotional work of family transition and succession. Regional advisers are the ones helping families in agriculture pass-down the farm; helping small business owners step away from their life’s work; and helping retirees make sense of aged care, estate planning and complex Centrelink decisions. These conversations are layered with family history, emotion and deep community ties. They require trust, familiarity and local knowledge, so they cannot be outsourced to robo-advice platforms or distant call centres.

The advice gap isn’t just a workforce issue; it turns into a regional resilience issue in which, when trusted advisers leave town with no one to take their place, their knowledge doesn’t just go missing, it vanishes. Young people who might have considered a career in financial advice don’t see anyone local doing the work.

Although this is a challenge, it also creates an opportunity. This is where local advisers – especially younger ones – can make all the difference. Their presence in the room isn’t just valuable, it is the building block to the future. In these communities, we’re not just answering financial questions, we are navigating legacies; and when those legacies are inter-generational, the adviser must be someone who the entire family trusts.

The industry needs to do more to show people what it looks like. Often, that trust grows best when it’s built over time, with advisers who’ve been raised in the same footy clubs, have sat in the same classrooms, and share the same lived experiences as the wider community.

The reality is that the current system is not designed to attract or retain enough future advisers. Regulatory red tape, inconsistent education pathways and the lack of a clear, supported entry point disproportionately impact regional professionals, who may already face barriers like distance from city-based education providers or a lack of local mentorship.

That’s why we’re seeing a powerful cycle take root. At Regional Prosperity, we’ve started engaging with school students across the regions we call home, and it’s making an impact. When young people see advisers who have grown up like them, who share their regional identity and values, the lightbulb switches on, and they start asking questions and want to know more. We’re seeing them take the leap, showing interest in financial planning as a career, staying close to home, and building the future of advice in the regions.

We’re also seeing it unfold inside families with parents bringing their children to meetings not just for context but for continuity. Over time, those same kids return with questions of their own. We’ve had leavers shadow our team, university students take on internships, family members of clients enrol in financial planning degrees, and even members of the footy club ask how they can get involved. This is how the bench is built. Slowly, organically, and one relationship at a time.

However, the industry can’t just hope young advisers show up. We must show them what’s possible. Here in regional Victoria, we have an edge with community connection, and the chance to build real wealth with people you know. We want to invest in education, mentorship and career development designed for people building their life and legacy in the regions.

In the regions, advisers aren’t just financial professionals but the quiet stewards of these legacies; and right now, we need more of them.

Traci Bartlett CFP is a financial adviser at Regional Prosperity with more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, and is the firm’s Leader of People & Culture.