How advice salaries will look in FY24–25

An annual salary report has uncovered there are expected to be only minimal salary changes for financial planners and junior advice positions this upcoming financial year.

Recruitment agency Hays’ recent salary guide, surveying over 15,000 professionals across Australia and New Zealand, revealed the average pay for key financial advice roles in the 2024–25 financial year.

Money Management compared the average figures to the current financial year, discovering little to no rise in salaries for the following positions: financial planner, senior financial planner, associate adviser and paraplanner.

Financial planners across all eight states and territories see no change in their remuneration compared to the previous financial year.

Financial planner

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Meanwhile, senior financial planners in the majority of states and territories also see no change in their salary. Two states are the exception, with NSW reporting a $10,000 salary decline and Tasmania enjoying a $5,000 salary rise.

Senior financial planner 

Hays said the lack of pay rises is being reflected across the Australian marketplace, not only in financial services.

“In the year ahead, 86 per cent of organisations are intending to offer pay rises but this is down from the high of 95 per cent last year. And the value of salary increases is also dropping with a 25 per cent reduction in the number of employers planning on offering a rise of more than 3 per cent to their staff.

“The mismatch between what employees want and what employers are willing to offer continues with almost 40 per cent of employees being dissatisfied with their salaries and 73 per cent saying it does not reflect their individual performance.

“The measure by which employers decide on the level of pay increases is also shifting, in part due to new pay transparency clauses. While individual performance remains the number one consideration for pay increases (84 per cent), factors such as benchmarking for the role, expertise, the organisation’s performance and the organisation’s set pay structures have increased dramatically from the previous year.” 

Junior roles see slight growth

The Hays report also assessed the average salaries of associate advisers and paraplanners, which did exhibit some minor salary increases. Associate advisers in Western Australia, Victoria and Queensland can expect modest salary growth in the upcoming financial year.

Many new entrants in the advice industry undergoing their professional year (PY) begin in an associate role. From sitting in on client meetings to producing advice documents, this back-end administrative role is often seen as a stepping stone to becoming an adviser.

Money Management recently spoke with three professionals who had made the jump from associate to provisional adviser and what the transition entails.

Associate adviser

For paraplanners, most states fall into the overall trend of no salary growth. However, employees in NSW and Victoria see an earnings rise of $5,000 each respectively.

Paraplanner