Checking a financial adviser’s licence, qualifications and disciplinary history is free, public and takes about five minutes. Almost nobody does it.
People who would happily spend an afternoon reading reviews of a dishwasher will hand over their superannuation on the strength of a referral from a friend. The information is sitting there, and this is how to use it.
We have set out how we work on our financial advice page, and everything below applies to us as much as to anyone else you are considering.
One caveat before starting, and it runs through this whole article: a clean register entry means someone is authorised, not that they are good. That distinction matters, and we come back to it.
Step one: search the Financial Advisers Register
This is the main one. It is managed by ASIC and published on the Moneysmart website, and it lists every adviser authorised to provide personal advice to retail clients on financial products.
Search moneysmart.gov.au for the financial advisers register. You can search by the adviser’s name, their adviser number, the business name or an ABN. Names are the usual starting point, but be aware that people appear under their legal name rather than the one on the business card, so try variations if nothing comes up.
If the person you are checking does not appear at all, that is significant, and we cover what it might mean below.
Step two: read the entry properly
Most people glance at a result, see the person exists, and stop. The detail is where the value is.
Current licensee. Who authorises them to give advice. Look at who owns that licensee, because ownership shapes what they can recommend.
Previous licensees, with dates. This is the most informative field on the page and the one most often skipped. It gives you a career history, including how often they have moved and whether there are gaps.
Authorisation dates. When they started and, where applicable, when each authorisation ended.
Qualifications and training. What they have completed against the professional standards. The education requirements tightened from 1 January 2026, and a significant number of advisers were unable to continue providing personal advice after that date, so recent entries are worth reading closely.
Tax advice authorisation. A separate field indicates whether they can provide tax-related advice. Many advisers cannot, and it matters if your question is a tax question.
Products they can advise on. Superannuation, life insurance, securities and so on. An adviser authorised for a narrow range is not a problem unless your needs fall outside it.
Step three: check the licensee, not just the person
The adviser is authorised by a licensee, and the licensee is a separate entity worth its own look.
Use the professional registers search on asic.gov.au to look up the Australian Financial Services Licence. You are checking that it is current, what the licence actually authorises, and whether any conditions have been imposed on it. A licence with unusual conditions attached is worth asking about.
While you are there, look up the company itself. Directors, registration date and whether the entity is in external administration are all public.
Step four: search the Banned and Disqualified Register
This step is the one people miss, and it is the reason the Financial Advisers Register alone is not enough.
Advisers who were banned or disqualified before 31 March 2015, and who have not returned to the industry since, do not appear on the Financial Advisers Register at all. They appear on ASIC’s Banned and Disqualified Register, which is a separate search on asic.gov.au.
Someone can therefore be absent from the adviser register for a very good reason, and you would only find out by looking in the second place. Search both.
Step five: check the Enforceable Undertakings Register
An enforceable undertaking is a commitment given to ASIC to resolve a regulatory concern, short of a ban. It is also published on asic.gov.au, and it is worth a search on both the individual and the licensee.
An undertaking from years ago that was complied with is not necessarily disqualifying. A recent one, or a pattern, is a reasonable thing to raise directly.
Step six: look for AFCA determinations
The Australian Financial Complaints Authority handles complaints against financial firms, and it publishes its determinations on afca.org.au, searchable by firm.
Determinations are made against firms rather than individuals, so search the licensee and the advice business. What you are looking for is volume and pattern. A single determination against a large firm tells you very little. Several on similar facts tells you something.
Bear in mind that most complaints resolve before reaching a determination, so what is published is the visible portion of a larger picture.
Step seven: professional memberships and other registers
Professional body membership is voluntary and sits on top of the legal requirements, but it brings a code of conduct and a complaints process. Ask which body they belong to and check it on that body’s own member directory.
If the person is also acting as a tax agent, that is a separate registration with the Tax Practitioners Board, which maintains its own public register. If they are also a mortgage broker, that is a credit licence, which is again a separate check.
The general point is that one person may hold several different authorisations, and each has its own register.
Step eight: search the wider record
Two searches take a minute and occasionally turn up more than all of the above.
Search the adviser’s name and the licensee’s name on asic.gov.au, because enforcement actions and media releases are published there and are indexed. Then run an ordinary web search on both names, including the word “ASIC” and the word “AFCA”. Court proceedings, regulatory action and journalism all surface this way.
What the registers will not tell you
This is the part a walkthrough usually leaves out, and leaving it out would be misleading.
The information is supplied by licensees. ASIC does not check or review what appears on the Financial Advisers Register before publishing it. Licensees are responsible for keeping it accurate. Treat it as a starting point, not verification.
A clean record is not a quality signal. The registers record authorisation and formal disciplinary outcomes. They do not record whether advice was any good, whether fees were reasonable, whether calls were returned, or whether clients were satisfied.
Regulatory action lags. Problems appear on a register after they have been investigated and determined, which can be years after the conduct. Advisers involved in some of the more serious recent collapses appeared entirely clean on a register search at the time they were dealing with clients.
Conflicts are mostly invisible. You can see who owns the licensee. You cannot see the approved product list, referral arrangements or commission structures. Those require asking, which is what our 15 questions to ask a financial adviser is for.
The registers are a screen for the obvious problems. They are not a substitute for the conversation. If you are choosing between firms locally, our guide on what to look for when choosing a financial planner in Adelaide covers the judgement calls the registers cannot help with.
Patterns worth a second look
None of these is proof of anything. Each is a reasonable basis for a question.
Frequent licensee changes. Moving several times in a few years happens for ordinary commercial reasons, including licensees closing. It can also indicate a person moving ahead of problems. Ask why.
Gaps in authorisation. A period with no authorisation may be parental leave, illness or a career change. It may also be something else.
A long career with a recent first authorisation. Someone presenting twenty years of experience whose register entry begins two years ago deserves a question about what they were doing before.
A licensee you cannot find much about. Small licensees are perfectly legitimate and often excellent. A licensee with no discernible web presence, recent registration and a single adviser is worth understanding better.
If they are not on the register at all
There are several explanations and they differ enormously in seriousness.
They may not provide personal advice on financial products, which would be the case for an accountant, a mortgage broker or a general insurance broker, all of whom operate under different registrations.
They may provide general advice only, meaning information not tailored to your circumstances, which does not require the same authorisation.
Or they may be operating without authorisation, which is illegal where personal advice on financial products is being given.
That last possibility is worth taking seriously if someone is recommending you move your superannuation, invest in a specific product, or make a change to your financial arrangements. If a person recommending those things does not appear on any relevant register, stop and check before acting rather than afterwards.
Cold contact deserves particular care. Recent Australian collapses followed a pattern where the first contact came through a cold call, an online quiz or a lead generator, and moved quickly toward switching superannuation into unfamiliar products.
If you find something concerning
Raise it with them first, unless what you have found suggests you should not. There are ordinary explanations for most of what appears on these registers, and someone who answers openly is telling you something useful.
If you are already a client and you are worried, you can complain to the firm’s internal dispute resolution process, and then to AFCA at no cost if that does not resolve it. You can also report misconduct to ASIC, which does not resolve your individual complaint but does contribute to what the regulator sees.
If you believe you have been given advice by someone unlicensed, report it to ASIC.
Doing this before you engage
All eight steps take less time than reading this article. Done before a first meeting rather than after a problem, they change the conversation, because you arrive knowing who you are dealing with.
The other half of the preparation is knowing what you are actually asking for. Our guide on what most people get wrong before seeking financial advice covers the assumptions worth checking before the first meeting.
If you would like to run these checks on us before getting in touch, please do. Our details are on the register like everyone else’s, and our financial advice page explains how we work. Get in touch once you have looked.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I check if a financial adviser is registered in Australia?
The Financial Advisers Register, managed by ASIC and published on the Moneysmart website, lists every adviser authorised to provide personal advice to retail clients on financial products. It is free and searchable by name, adviser number, business name or ABN, and shows current and previous licensees, authorisation dates and qualifications.
Is the Financial Advisers Register enough on its own?
No. Advisers banned or disqualified before 31 March 2015 who have not re-entered the industry do not appear on it, and are listed instead on ASIC’s separate Banned and Disqualified Register. Enforceable undertakings are on another register again, and AFCA publishes determinations separately. Checking only the adviser register can leave a serious history undiscovered.
Does ASIC verify the information on the register?
No. The information is supplied by licensees, who are responsible for keeping it accurate, and ASIC does not check or review it before it is published. It is a reliable starting point but should not be treated as independent verification of qualifications or history.
What does it mean if an adviser has changed licensees several times?
Often nothing. Advisers move for ordinary commercial reasons, including licensees closing or being sold, and the industry has consolidated considerably. It can also indicate someone moving ahead of problems. It is a reasonable thing to ask about directly rather than to assume either way.
What if the person advising me is not on the register?
There are legitimate explanations. Accountants, mortgage brokers and general insurance brokers operate under different registrations, and general advice does not require the same authorisation as personal advice. But if someone is recommending you switch superannuation, buy a specific product or change your financial arrangements, and they do not appear on any relevant register, stop and verify before acting.
Can I see complaints made against a financial adviser?
Partly. AFCA publishes its determinations on its website, searchable by firm rather than by individual adviser. Most complaints resolve before reaching a determination, so what is published represents only part of the picture. Look for volume and repeated patterns rather than drawing conclusions from a single entry.
Does a clean register entry mean an adviser is good?
No. The registers record authorisation and formal disciplinary outcomes, not the quality of advice, the reasonableness of fees or client satisfaction. Regulatory action also lags the conduct that caused it, sometimes by years. Checking the registers screens out obvious problems, but the rest comes from asking direct questions.
General advice warning. This article contains general information only and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. It describes public registers and regulatory processes in general terms and is not legal advice. Register locations, search functions and regulatory requirements change over time, so please refer to ASIC’s Moneysmart website for current information.
