According to the latest Padua Wealth Data numbers, the period between 18 December 2025 and 8 January 2026 was a “very volatile” one.
“However, some good news, early indications are that the adviser losses will be less than expected,” said founder Colin Williams.
“As the year came to an end, there was a surge in licensees updating their advisers details, mostly in relation to exam qualifications, leading to a lower loss of advisers than may have been expected.”
The net loss over the three-week period was 223, taking the total number of advisers down to 15,150.
This included 270 advisers that ceased on the Financial Adviser Register (FAR), while there where 24 new entrants – 16 in December and eight in January – and 23 formerly ceased advisers returning to the FAR.
Combining the latest numbers with the movement since 1 December, 421 advisers have ceased and no longer current on the FAR.
More losses could be ahead
At the start of December, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) delivered what it called a “final warning” for financial advisers that were yet to meet the education requirements.
In the update, the regulator said that, as of 20 November, there were 15,469 relevant providers on the FAR. Of these, AFS licensees have notified ASIC that 7,959 hold an approved degree or qualification, 4,212 are relying on the experienced provider pathway, and 972 are recorded as holding both an approved degree or qualification and relying on the experienced provider pathway
“The remaining 2,326 relevant providers have yet to meet the qualifications standard according to the information currently recorded on the Financial Advisers Register,” ASIC said.
“Of this cohort, 836 may be eligible for the experienced provider pathway, but their AFS licensees are yet to notify ASIC of this.”
According to Williams, the early returns for January often lag the reality, with the updates to the FAR beginning slowly until staff at licensees return from their break, so “expect mixed results for a few weeks”.
Licensees also have 30 days to report adviser changes.
Williams added that the most recent ASIC dataset on 18 December showed a rise in applications to utilise the experienced pathway (EP) and “many advisers updating qualifications”.
“Current FAR figures combined with the 18 Dec 2025 dataset shows the following results: 5,547 advisers said ‘Yes’ to the EP – this accounts for more than a third of current advisers, 7,638 said ‘No’ to EP, 1,965 have not stated a position,” he said.
Complicating the numbers, he added, is that 60 of those who chose the EP passed the FASEA exam after October 2022, which could count against them.
“Of the 7,638 who said No, 124 have no qualifications that meet the new standard,” Williams said.
“Of the 1,965 undecided, about 500 list no qualifying qualifications – though nearly half of those may still qualify for the EP because they began before 2011.”
Importantly, the numbers will not be final until later in the month.
“This is a snapshot and will change, but many advisers still appear in an unsure position to enable them to continue in 2026,” Williams said.
