How Much Does Financial Advice Cost in Canberra?
No national price list exists for advice — but there is national data, and firm disclosure rules. What advice really costs, and exactly how Véurr charges.
We’re Maciej Stanek and Imran Amjad, the financial advisers at Véurr Financial Planning. The short answer: Australia has no fixed price for financial advice. The median ongoing advice fee reached $4,668 a year in 2025 — up 67 per cent over five years — according to Adviser Ratings’ Australian Financial Advice Landscape report, while one-off advice depends on complexity and scope. Every licensed adviser must explain their fees before you agree to anything. At Véurr in Canberra, what the first step costs depends on how you come to us — and if you are weighing a redundancy, your agency may meet the cost of advice entirely. Every fee is quoted in writing before any work begins.
How do financial advisers charge in Australia?
Moneysmart, ASIC’s consumer finance site, lists the common advice fee types — most firms use one or a combination of these:
| Fee type | What it is | One-off or ongoing |
|---|---|---|
| Statement of Advice (SOA) fee | Prepares your Statement of Advice — the document setting out the advice and every fee attached to it | One-off |
| Implementation fee | Actions the advice — opening accounts, setting up investments | One-off |
| Fee for service | A set fee for a defined piece of advice | One-off |
| Hourly rate | A fixed rate for advice or one-off questions outside an ongoing arrangement | One-off |
| Review fee | Reviews your financial plan and implements changes | One-off |
| Ongoing advice fee | A regular fee (often monthly) for reviews and ongoing support | Ongoing |
| Asset-based fee | A percentage of the assets under management — the higher the balance, the higher the fee. The dollar amount must also be shown to you | Ongoing |
Whichever structure a firm uses, product fees are separate from advice fees — platform administration, investment management and insurance premiums are charged by the product provider, and the advice must set out both layers. Advisers may also receive commissions on some insurance policies they recommend; this requires your consent, and it’s a fair question to ask directly.
What does financial advice typically cost?
The most-cited national benchmark comes from Adviser Ratings’ annual industry study: the median ongoing fee jumped 18 per cent in 2025 alone, and its five-year climb has run well ahead of the 20.5 per cent inflation recorded over the same period. The report attributes the rise to the cost of delivering compliant advice and a shift toward more complex client work.
There is no equivalent published average for one-off advice, and Moneysmart is deliberately unspecific on totals for a reason: fees rise with the breadth of advice you need. A single defined question costs a fraction of a full plan covering super, investments, insurance and retirement income. Treat any website quoting a precise “average cost of financial advice in Canberra” with scepticism — no such local index exists.
What drives the cost of advice?
Per Moneysmart, four things: how complex your situation is, the type of advice you need, whether you want one-off or ongoing support, and the adviser’s fee structure.
In Canberra, the first driver does the heavy lifting. Most of our work is helping people build financial freedom — growing super, investing outside it, paying down the mortgage faster, getting personal insurance right so one bad year does not undo the plan, and using the tax system efficiently along the way. What makes the Canberra version of that work distinctive is who is doing it: many of the people who sit down with us also hold Commonwealth defined benefit interests — CSS, PSS or PSSap for public servants, DFRDB or MilitarySuper for Defence members — often alongside redundancy decisions or retirement timing questions. Scheme rules, election windows and Age Pension interactions make the advice scope genuinely different from a standard accumulation-fund plan — and scope, not postcode, is what moves an advice quote.
What do you actually get for an advice fee?
For comprehensive advice, the fee typically covers the fact-finding and research behind your strategy, the modelling of your options, a Statement of Advice — the document that records the recommendations, the basis for them, and every fee and commission in dollars — and, if you proceed, implementation. Ongoing arrangements add scheduled reviews and a standing contact point as your circumstances and the rules change.
The fee also buys a regulated relationship. Your adviser must give you their Financial Services Guide up front, explain fees before you agree to anything, obtain your written consent every year before ongoing fees continue, and detail the services you’ll receive each time you consent. You can end an ongoing fee arrangement at any time — protections that apply under Australian law whichever firm you choose.
How Véurr charges
Stated plainly:
- Taking a redundancy? Ask your agency before you pay anyone. Many Commonwealth and ACT agencies contribute to the cost of redundancy advice as part of the package — in many cases enough to cover it entirely. For a lot of the people we see, proper advice on the biggest financial decision of their career ends up costing them nothing. Check your redundancy paperwork or ask HR; we can tell you in the first conversation whether your agency is one of them.
- Referred by one of our clients? The first conversation is generally complimentary. Most of our practice grows by referral, and a referred first conversation carries no charge and no obligation — it is where we work out whether we are the right fit before anything is scoped or priced.
- Everything else is quoted in writing before any work starts. We don’t publish a price list, because an honest fee depends entirely on what your situation needs — a single-question advice meeting is priced differently from a comprehensive plan, and sometimes the meeting itself is the whole job. Whatever the scope, you see the fee in writing first, a one-off meeting fee is credited against your plan if you go on to one, and ongoing arrangements renew only with your written consent each year.
Our fees and services are set out in our Financial Services Guide and Adviser Profile, published on this site.
How to find out what financial advice will cost you
With us or any other licensed firm, the same five steps get you to a clear number:
- Read the adviser’s Financial Services Guide (FSG). Every licensed advice firm publishes an FSG setting out its services, fees and any links to financial products — it should be on the firm’s website. Véurr’s FSG is published on our site. Read it before your first meeting.
- Check the adviser on the Moneysmart Financial Advisers Register. The register is free and run by the federal government. It shows whether an adviser is authorised, who licenses them, and their qualifications and history. Both Véurr advisers are listed on it.
- Book the first meeting and bring your full picture. However you arrive — referral, redundancy or a question of your own — the more complete the picture you bring of your goals, super, debts and income, the more accurately the scope and fee can be set.
- Ask the five fee questions. What will I pay upfront? What will I pay each year? Are there product fees on top of your fees? How will I be charged? Can you give me the total cost in dollars? These are the questions Moneysmart suggests putting to any adviser.
- Get the fee in writing before any work starts. A specific fee for a defined scope, in writing, before the work begins. If you enter an ongoing fee arrangement, you must give written consent each year for it to continue — and you can end it at any time.
Common questions about financial advice fees
How much does a financial adviser cost in Australia?
There is no set price. The median ongoing advice fee in Australia reached $4,668 a year in 2025, according to Adviser Ratings’ Australian Financial Advice Landscape report. One-off advice varies with scope and complexity. Every licensed adviser must explain their fees before you agree to anything, and their Financial Services Guide (FSG) sets out how they charge.
How much does a financial adviser cost in Canberra?
There is no separate Canberra price list — the same national fee structures apply. Scope is often the bigger factor in Canberra, because Commonwealth defined benefit schemes such as CSS, PSS and DFRDB add complexity to the advice. At Véurr Financial Planning every fee is quoted in writing before any work begins, and what the first step costs depends on how you come to us — clients referred by existing clients often start with a complimentary conversation, and many redundancy clients have the cost of advice met by their agency.
Is the first meeting with a financial adviser free?
It depends on the firm — and at Véurr it depends on how you arrive. Clients referred by an existing client generally start with a complimentary conversation. If you are weighing a redundancy offer, ask your agency before you pay anyone: many Commonwealth and ACT agencies contribute to the cost of redundancy advice as part of the package — in many cases enough to cover it entirely. For other one-off questions there is a charged advice meeting, quoted up front and credited against your plan if you go on to one. Whatever the path, you will know the cost in writing before anything starts.
Are financial advice fees tax deductible?
Sometimes, in part — but the rules are specific, and they turn on the type of advice and how it connects to your income-producing assets. Véurr is not a tax agent and does not advise on this. Check your own circumstances with the ATO or a registered tax agent before assuming any advice fee is deductible.
Can I stop paying ongoing financial advice fees?
Yes. You must give written consent each year before ongoing advice fees can keep being charged, and you can end an ongoing fee arrangement at any time. Each time you consent, your adviser must give you written details of the services to be provided under the arrangement and how often you will receive them.
Want to know what advice would cost for your situation?
That’s exactly what the first meeting is for. Sit down with Maciej or Imran and leave knowing what advice would involve, what it would cost you — often, for redundancy clients, nothing at all — and whether it’s worth it for you. If the answer turns out to be a single decision rather than a plan, you may well leave with it already made.
Fees in writing before anything starts. Redundancy clients: ask us about agency-funded advice. No sales pitch.
Or call us directly: (02) 6171 1777
Sources and further reading: Moneysmart — Financial advice costs · Moneysmart — Financial Advisers Register · Adviser Ratings — median ongoing advice fee, 2025 Australian Financial Advice Landscape report · ATO — Investment income deductions (financial advice fees) · Véurr / Lifespan — Financial Services Guide and Adviser Profile
