Financial Advice Association Australia has repeated its plea for action to reduce regulatory costs, in a response to last week’s federal budget.

“While we welcome the government’s commitment to streamlining regulatory requirements including finance sector regulation, we encourage it to broaden its focus by reducing the red tape faced by financial advice businesses, which is a significant burden, particularly for small business practices, and drives up the cost of advice for consumers,” association CEO Sarah Abood said.

“We urge the government to act decisively and urgently to implement further changes to make it cheaper and easier to provide professional advice, which ultimately leaves Australians better off and more resilient.”

She says people will need financial advice to navigate changes announced in the budget.

“The breadth of this federal budget … [is] complex and wide-ranging, and its impact on Australians is likely to be substantial,” Ms Abood said.

“There is no doubt that Australians who have access to quality, professional financial advice will be significantly better placed to navigate these changes than unadvised Australians.”