How Much Do Financial Adviser Fees Cost in Australia 2026
Financial advice is one of the few things Australians buy without ever seeing a price list. You book the meeting, you have the chat, and somewhere around the second appointment a number lands that's four or five times bigger than you expected.
This guide puts the numbers up front. We cover what financial adviser fees actually cost in Australia in 2026 — the initial Statement of Advice, the ongoing service fee, one-off portfolio reviews, super-only advice, and the percentage-of-assets model that quietly costs the most over time.
You'll also see exactly what makes one person's quote $4,200 and their neighbour's $15,000 for the same job title. If you want a number for your own situation before you ring anyone, Leadkit's financial planning calculators will give you an indicative range in about 30 seconds.
Last updated: August 2026.
Key takeaways
- Financial adviser fees in Australia in 2026 typically run $3,800 to $13,700 (ex GST) for an initial Statement of Advice, and $3,200 to $11,600 a year for ongoing advice.
- A Statement of Advice cost is driven more by complexity than by portfolio size — an SMSF or trust structure adds roughly 85% to the base fee, while a large portfolio adds around 65%.
- The ongoing adviser fee percentage model sits near 0.75% p.a. of assets under management — that's about $3,750 a year on a $500,000 portfolio, and $22,500 on a $3 million one.
- Super-only advice is the cheapest entry point, at roughly $2,400 to $3,900 ex GST including implementation.
- Fee for service financial advice is now the default in Australia — commissions on investment and super products were banned under the Future of Financial Advice reforms, so almost every adviser charges a flat or percentage fee you agree to in writing.
- All ongoing fee arrangements must be renewed with your written consent every year. If you didn't sign something, the fee shouldn't be running.
Contents
- How much do financial adviser fees cost in Australia in 2026?
- What does a Statement of Advice cost and what do you get?
- What drives your financial planning fee cost up or down?
- What is a normal ongoing adviser fee percentage?
- How does fee for service financial advice actually work?
- Are financial adviser fees tax deductible in Australia?
- How do you check an adviser before you pay them anything?
- Frequently asked questions
How much do financial adviser fees cost in Australia in 2026?
Financial adviser fees in Australia in 2026 range from about $2,400 for super-only advice to more than $15,000 for a complex initial plan, with ongoing advice services typically charged at $3,200 to $11,600 a year. The table below sets out indicative ranges by service type.
| Advice service | Typical range (ex GST) | Typical range (inc. GST) | Billing basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Statement of Advice | $3,800 – $13,700 | $4,200 – $15,100 | One-off |
| Implementation of the advice | $1,200 – $2,200 | $1,300 – $2,400 | One-off, on top of the SOA |
| Ongoing advice service | $3,200 – $11,600 | $3,600 – $12,800 | Per year |
| One-off portfolio review | $1,900 – $6,700 | $2,100 – $7,400 | One-off |
| Superannuation-only advice | $2,400 – $3,900 | $2,600 – $4,300 | One-off, includes implementation |
| Ongoing investment management | 0.75% p.a. of assets | — | Per year, on top of the advice fee |
Methodology. These ranges come from the default rate card inside Leadkit's own financial planning fee calculator — the tool Australian advice practices embed on their websites to quote clients. The low end of each range is a simple situation with a portfolio under $250,000; the high end is a complex multi-entity situation with more than $2 million in assets. Leadkit builds and maintains that calculator, so treat these as indicative market rates rather than independent survey data.
This is a price indication only. Your adviser will confirm the final price after assessing your situation.
Want a number for your own situation? Pick your advice type, portfolio size and complexity and you'll get an instant indicative range with GST shown separately — or browse all 200+ Australian calculators if you're pricing something else entirely.
What does a Statement of Advice cost and what do you get?
A Statement of Advice (SOA) costs $3,800 to $13,700 ex GST in Australia in 2026, and it's the single biggest line item in the whole relationship. The SOA is the formal written document your adviser is legally required to give you before you act on personal advice — it sets out their recommendations, the reasoning, the products, and every fee attached.
That statement of advice cost isn't paying for the printing. It's paying for the fact-find, the modelling, the compliance review, and the paraplanning work behind it. A typical comprehensive SOA runs 40 to 80 pages.
Two documents sit around it and you should have both:
- The Financial Services Guide (FSG) — handed to you at or before the first meeting. It explains who the adviser works for, what they're licensed to advise on, and how they get paid. It's free.
- The Record of Advice (ROA) — a shorter document used for follow-up advice once an SOA already exists. Cheaper to produce, so subsequent advice usually costs far less than the first plan.
Implementation is separate. Actually opening the accounts, rolling over the super and executing the trades typically adds $1,200 to $2,200 ex GST. Plenty of people assume it's bundled. Ask directly.
What drives your financial planning fee cost up or down?
Complexity moves your financial planning fee cost more than portfolio size does. Two clients with identical $600,000 portfolios can pay very different fees if one holds everything in their own name and the other runs a family trust and an SMSF.
Here's how the two factors stack up in the fee model behind the calculator:
| Situation complexity | Fee multiplier | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Simple | ×1.0 | Single entity, straightforward goals |
| Moderate | ×1.35 | Multiple accounts, insurance needs or an investment property |
| Complex multi-entity | ×1.85 | SMSF, trusts, company structures or estate planning |
| Portfolio value | Fee multiplier | Who this is |
|---|---|---|
| Under $250,000 | ×0.85 | Starting out or building wealth |
| $250,000 – $750,000 | ×1.0 | Established portfolio |
| $750,000 – $2 million | ×1.3 | Assets across multiple structures |
| Over $2 million | ×1.65 | High net worth, complex structures likely |
Read that as: going from simple to complex adds about 85% to the fee, while going from a mid-size portfolio to a $2 million-plus one adds about 65%. Structure costs more than scale.
The practical lever is obvious — tidy up before you engage. Consolidating four stray super accounts and closing a dormant trust can move you down a complexity band before the meter starts. If super consolidation is the main job, our super projection calculator will show what the change is worth over time.
What is a normal ongoing adviser fee percentage?
A normal ongoing adviser fee percentage in Australia in 2026 is around 0.75% per annum of assets under management, usually charged on top of a flat annual advice fee rather than instead of it. That percentage is the "investment management" component — rebalancing, reporting and portfolio administration.
What 0.75% p.a. actually costs, in dollars:
| Portfolio value | Ongoing investment management fee (p.a.) |
|---|---|
| $125,000 | $940 |
| $500,000 | $3,750 |
| $1.375 million | $10,300 |
| $3 million | $22,500 |
Notice the shape of that. The work involved in rebalancing a $3 million portfolio is not 24 times the work of rebalancing a $125,000 one, but the percentage model charges as if it is. That's the argument for flat-dollar fees once your balance gets serious — and it's why many Australian practices now cap the percentage above a certain threshold.
The compounding point matters more than the annual one. A 0.75% fee on a $500,000 balance is $3,750 this year, but it's charged against a growing base every year for as long as you stay. Over 20 years that's a meaningful slice of the end balance, which is worth modelling before you sign.
This is a price indication only. Your adviser will confirm the final price after assessing your situation.
How does fee for service financial advice actually work?
Fee for service financial advice means you pay the adviser directly for the work, rather than the adviser being paid a commission by the product they recommend. It's now the standard model in Australia — commissions on investment and superannuation products were banned under the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) reforms, and the Hayne Royal Commission tightened the rules further.
Three things follow from that, and they're all in your favour:
- The fee has to be disclosed in dollars, not just as a percentage, in the SOA.
- Ongoing fee arrangements need your written consent every year. Advisers can't quietly keep deducting a fee from your super or investment account indefinitely — the annual renewal requirement introduced after the Royal Commission killed the old "fee for no service" problem.
- You can pay some advice fees from your super balance where the advice relates to that super interest, instead of from your bank account.
There's one exception worth knowing: life insurance commissions are still permitted within capped limits. If your plan includes personal insurance, ask whether the adviser is receiving a commission from the insurer, and what the alternative fee-for-service price would be. Our insurance premium estimate calculator is a useful sanity check on the premium side of that conversation.
The Federal Treasury's Delivering Better Financial Outcomes package continues to reshape how advice fees are documented and charged — worth checking treasury.gov.au if you want the current state of play.
Are financial adviser fees tax deductible in Australia?
Some financial adviser fees are tax deductible in Australia, but not the ones most people assume. The general principle is that fees relating to managing or maintaining income-producing investments can be deductible, while fees for setting up a new investment strategy or for advice on non-income-producing matters generally are not.
In practice that usually means:
- Ongoing portfolio management fees — often deductible, because they relate to producing assessable income
- The initial Statement of Advice — generally not deductible, because it's establishing a plan rather than maintaining an income stream
- Advice fees deducted from super — treated inside the fund, not on your personal return
The Australian Taxation Office has published specific guidance on when individuals can claim financial advice fees, and the split can hinge on how the adviser itemises their invoice. Ask for the invoice broken down by service — a single line reading "advice fee" gives your accountant nothing to work with. If you're weighing up what that conversation costs, our guide to accounting fees in Australia covers typical tax agent pricing.
This is general information, not tax advice. Your deductibility depends on your circumstances — confirm it with a registered tax agent.
How do you check an adviser before you pay them anything?
Check the ASIC Financial Advisers Register before your first paid appointment — it's free, it takes two minutes, and it tells you whether the person quoting you $9,000 is actually authorised to give the advice they're proposing.
The register, hosted on ASIC's Moneysmart site, shows each adviser's qualifications, their employment history, the licensee they're authorised by, and any bans or disciplinary action. Advisers giving personal advice to retail clients must also have passed the financial adviser exam and meet the education standards set under the professional standards regime.
Four questions worth asking in the first meeting:
- "What's on your approved product list?" — the APL is the set of products the licensee permits the adviser to recommend. A narrow APL owned by a product manufacturer is a conflict worth knowing about.
- "Is the ongoing fee flat, percentage, or both?" — many practices charge both, and the combined number is what matters.
- "What happens in year two?" — the SOA is one-off; the ongoing service isn't. Get the year-two figure in writing.
- "Are you charging separately for implementation?" — see above.
Membership of the Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA), the professional body formed from the merger of the FPA and AFA, is a reasonable additional signal — though registration with ASIC is the one that's legally required.
Frequently asked questions
Q: How much does a financial adviser cost for a first appointment?
A: Most Australian advisers offer the first meeting free — it's a scoping conversation where they work out whether they can help and what the engagement would involve. The charging starts at the fact-find and SOA preparation stage, which is where the $3,800 to $13,700 range applies. Some practices charge a smaller upfront "discovery" or "strategy" fee of a few hundred dollars and credit it against the SOA if you proceed. Always confirm in the first meeting whether it's free, and ask for the fee schedule in writing before you agree to anything — then benchmark whatever number you're given against the indicative ranges in the table above.
Q: What is a Statement of Advice and why does it cost so much?
A: A Statement of Advice is the formal written document an adviser must give you before you act on personal financial advice. It records their recommendations, the reasoning behind them, the products involved and every fee attached. The statement of advice cost — typically $3,800 to $13,700 ex GST — reflects the fact-find, the strategy modelling, the paraplanning and the licensee compliance review sitting behind it, not the document itself. A comprehensive SOA usually runs 40 to 80 pages. Follow-up advice after the first SOA is generally delivered as a shorter Record of Advice and costs considerably less.
Q: Is a percentage fee or a flat fee better value?
A: It depends almost entirely on your balance. At an ongoing adviser fee percentage of 0.75% p.a., a $250,000 portfolio costs about $1,900 a year, while a $2 million portfolio costs $15,000 — for broadly similar work. Below roughly $500,000 a percentage fee often works out cheaper than a flat retainer; above that, flat-dollar pricing usually wins. Ask for both quotes and compare them in dollars over five years, not as a percentage in year one. Many practices will cap the percentage above a threshold if you ask.
Q: Can I pay financial adviser fees from my super?
A: Yes, where the advice relates to your superannuation interest and your fund permits it. Deducting the fee from your super balance rather than your bank account is common for super consolidation, contribution strategy and fund selection advice — the super-only advice band of roughly $2,400 to $3,900 ex GST. The trade-off is that money leaving your super doesn't compound for you, so a $3,000 fee deducted at 40 costs more than $3,000 in retirement terms. Our guide to super projections and retirement in Australia walks through how much that difference compounds over your remaining working life.
Q: How much does financial advice cost if I have an SMSF?
A: Expect to sit in the "complex multi-entity" band, which carries roughly an 85% loading on the base fee — so an initial SOA involving an SMSF commonly lands between $9,000 and $15,000 inc. GST once implementation is added. SMSFs also carry their own separate annual costs for accounting, the independent audit and the ATO supervisory levy, which are not part of the advice fee. If you're still deciding whether to set one up, the SMSF setup cost calculator gives you an indicative establishment figure before you commit.
Q: Do financial adviser fees include GST?
A: Personal financial advice fees generally attract GST at 10%, so a $6,000 ex-GST plan is $6,600 out of pocket. Quotes from advisers vary in whether they lead with the ex-GST or inc-GST number — which is a common reason two quotes look further apart than they really are. When you're comparing, get both figures. Fees deducted from a superannuation fund are treated differently for GST purposes because the fund can claim reduced input tax credits, so the effective cost inside super may be lower than the headline rate.
Q: Are adviser fees cheaper in some cities than others?
A: Somewhat, but less than people expect. CBD practices in Sydney and Melbourne generally sit at the upper end of each range, while advisers in Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane and regional centres often price 10% to 20% below their Sydney equivalents for comparable work. The bigger variable is still complexity and the licensee's compliance overhead, not the postcode. Video-based advice has also flattened the gap considerably — plenty of Australians now engage advisers interstate without ever meeting them in person.
Q: What happens if I want to stop paying an ongoing fee?
A: You can end an ongoing fee arrangement at any time by notifying your adviser and your product provider in writing. Since the post-Royal Commission reforms, ongoing fee arrangements must also be renewed with your explicit written consent each year — if you don't sign the renewal, the fee is meant to stop automatically. Check your super and investment statements for any "adviser service fee" line and confirm you consented to it this year. If a fee is running without your consent, raise it with the licensee first, then with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.
Getting the number right before you sign
Financial adviser fees in Australia in 2026 are more transparent than they've ever been, but transparency only helps if you know what to compare. The three numbers that matter are the initial Statement of Advice fee, the implementation fee, and the year-two ongoing cost — flat and percentage combined.
Before you engage anyone:
- Get the fee schedule in writing, split by service and with GST shown
- Check the adviser on ASIC's Financial Advisers Register at moneysmart.gov.au
- Ask what year two costs, not just year one
- Tidy your structure first — consolidating super and closing dormant entities can drop you a complexity band
- Compare the percentage fee in dollars across five years, not as a headline rate
Across the finance and professional-services quote calculators on Leadkit — 46 of them at last count — the pattern is consistent: the fees that surprise people are almost never the headline advice fee. They're the implementation charge and the ongoing percentage that nobody quoted in dollars.
This is a price indication only. Your adviser will confirm the final price after assessing your situation.
Want an instant fee estimate for financial advice? Use the free financial planning fee calculator — takes 30 seconds, no signup required, and the result is an indication only. Your adviser confirms the final price after assessing your situation.