When you pay for financial advice, the more useful question is not just "how much" but "paid by whom, and how". The payment model shapes the incentive, and the incentive shapes the advice. Here is how Australian financial advisers are paid in 2026, and what each structure means for you.
You pay for the advice, directly
Since the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reforms took effect in 2013, commissions on investment and superannuation advice have been banned. The practical result is that, for most advice today, you pay the adviser — not a product company paying them behind the scenes. That is a good thing: it means the adviser works for you. What you are paying for is professional time and expertise, usually delivered as a written Statement of Advice (SOA) — the formal plan setting out what is recommended and why.The upfront advice fee
The first and largest cost is normally the upfront advice fee to prepare your initial SOA. It reflects the complexity of your situation: a single question about super costs far less than a full retirement, investment and estate plan. Complex initial advice commonly runs to several thousand dollars. Ask for the fee in writing before any work begins. A good adviser will scope the work and quote it up front, so there are no surprises.Ongoing advice fees — and your annual consent
If you want a continuing relationship — regular reviews, a point of contact, adjustments as your life changes — you may enter an ongoing fee arrangement. This is a regular fee for ongoing service. There is an important protection here. Under reforms that took effect in January 2025, an adviser must obtain your written consent every year to keep charging an ongoing fee, and must set out the services you will receive and the fees you will pay for the year ahead. If they do not get that consent, the arrangement automatically ends. You can also cancel an ongoing fee arrangement at any time, and if you are paying one, your adviser should review your situation with you at least once a year. The takeaway: an ongoing fee is fine if you are getting ongoing value — but it is your decision to renew, every single year.Asset-based fees
Some advisers charge a percentage of the money they manage for you — an asset-based fee. It is legal and common. The catch is that it grows as your balance grows, whether or not the work involved grows with it, and it can nudge advice toward "bring more assets under management" rather than, say, paying off your mortgage. This is also one of the charges a genuinely independent adviser will not levy (more on that below).Commissions — mostly gone, but not entirely
Commissions on investment and super advice are banned. Life insurance is the notable exception: an adviser can still receive a commission from the insurer when they arrange cover for you. That is not automatically bad — insurance commissions can make cover accessible without a large upfront fee — but you should know it is happening, because it is a payment from the product provider, not from you. Crucially, an adviser who accepts insurance commissions (without rebating them to you in full) cannot legally call themselves "independent".Fixed fee, hourly, or retainer
Beneath these categories, the actual billing usually takes one of a few shapes:- Fixed / flat fee — a set dollar amount agreed up front. The clearest option: you know the cost before you commit, and it does not balloon with your balance.
- Hourly — charged for time spent, useful for a one-off question. Ask for an estimate.
- Ongoing retainer — an annual fee for a continuing relationship (with the yearly consent above).