The Council of Australian Life Insurers has urged the re-elected Albanese government to finish its advice reforms, including permitting the industry to provide “simple” guidance to customers.

CALI has long pressed for changes allowing insurers to give advice on their products to customers who want it.

At present, insurers are permitted only to give general advice that does not consider individual circumstances.

CEO Christine Cupitt said: “CALI urges the government to prioritise consultation on the full package and, once finalised, subsequent passage of the legislation. We are committed to working collaboratively to implement the reforms in a way that enhances outcomes for all Australians.”

The federal government launched consultation on draft laws comprising the second tranche of its financial advice reforms before it called the May 3 election.

Key changes in the draft Treasury Laws Amendment Bill 2025 include replacing the statement of advice with a fit for purpose client advice record; providing rules on what advice topics can be collectively charged for via superannuation; and allowing super funds to provide “targeted” prompts to members to drive greater engagement with super at key life stages.

The draft laws make no specific mention of a new class of adviser that the government previously said would be created to allow insurers – life and general – to provide simple advice.

Ms Cupitt says Australians want advice that is simple, accessible and affordable.

“Critical to this is the government’s pre-election commitment to progressing the remaining reforms in the Better Financial Outcomes package.

“CALI believes that introducing the new class of adviser and modernising the best-interests duty are essential to solving the life insurance advice gap that exists in Australia today.

Financial advisers say they hope the government will address advice access challenges facing Australians.

They urge the government to fix the compensation scheme of last resort; give advisers access to the tax portal; deliver on “effective” advice reforms; cut financial services red tape; and support new entrants to the profession.

“One of the clearest messages from our members is that well-meaning but overly complex regulation has made financial advice harder to access and more expensive,” Financial Advice Association Australia CEO Sarah Abood said.

“We need to cut unnecessary red tape and ensure that advisers can focus on delivering great outcomes for their clients.”