Important changes to advice fee forms
Published - 6 December 2024
From Monday 9 December 2024, we’re making some changes in preparation for the relevant Delivering Better Financial Outcomes (DBFO) legislation that comes into effect on 10 January 2025.
We’ve summarised the key changes below, but if you have further questions, please call us on 13 11 84, speak with your BDM or email our Advice Governance team. You can also visit our Advice Fee Request FAQs.
Key changes
On 9 December 2024
Changes to our advice fee forms
New ‘total cost of advice’ field on all Advice Fee forms
Our three Advice Fee forms will have a new mandatory ‘total cost of advice’ field. Here you must list the value of the total advice fee your client is paying, not just the portion being charged through ART. Please note, ART requires you to include the total of both ongoing and non-ongoing advice fees in this field.
Super Savings Advice Fee Request form
New start date limit
When generating an Advice Fee Request form for a new monthly ongoing fee in Adviser Online, you can select a start date of up to 90 days in the future (current limit is 30 days). This aligns with monthly fixed term fees.
New client signing date requirement
For a new ongoing advice fee, your client must sign the Advice Fee Request form within 90 days of the start date listed on the form (current limit is 30 days). This now aligns with monthly fixed term fees.
Super Savings Ongoing Advice Fee Renewal form
New client signing date requirement
Currently, when renewing an ongoing advice fee, the Ongoing Advice Fee Renewal form cannot be signed before the client’s anniversary date and no later than 120 days after it.
On and from 10 January 2025, the form can be signed within the period starting 60 days before the reference day and up to 150 days after the reference day. Please note, ‘reference day’ replaces the old term ‘anniversary date.’
Important note on using current forms
You can continue to use the current forms (i.e. pre-9 December forms), but depending on the type of advice fee transaction there are important things you need to consider, which we’ve summarised below.
Advice fee requests
You are requesting a one-off advice fee
You can use our current form but it must be signed before 10 January 2025. We recommend using our new form.
You are establishing a monthly or lump sum fixed term advice fee arrangement
You can use current form but it must be signed before 10 January 2025. We recommend using our new form.
You are establishing a new monthly ongoing advice fee arrangement
You can use our current form but it must be signed before 10 January 2025. We recommend using our new form.
Ongoing advice fee renewals
Your client’s anniversary date is before 10 January 2025
You can use our current form or our new form. In both situations, the previous renewal period of 120 days will apply. If using our current form, the form must be signed before 10 January 2025.
Your client’s anniversary date is on or after 10 January 2025
Use our new form and the new renewal period (i.e. 60 days prior to the reference day up until 150 days after) will apply.
Super Savings Advice Fee Request form
On 6 January 2025, we will delete any Advice Fee Request transactions from Adviser Online that were created before Monday 9 December and haven’t yet been submitted.
Accepting third party advice fee consent forms
From 9 December, ART will accept an adviser’s own/a third party advice fee consent form. If you are using your own/a third party consent form, both the adviser and client must also sign our Advice Fee Consent Addendum and provide both to ART.
The Addendum is required as it provides us with:
- Your consent and your client’s consent to our product rules as they relate to advice fees, and;
- Your consent to provide ART with advice documentation required as part of an advice fee review.
The Addendum can be accessed from Adviser Online.
On and from 10 January 2025
Changes to advice fees for couples charging to one account
Currently, where advice is provided to dependent spouses within the same advice document, ART permits the cost of this advice to be charged to only one member of the couple if requested. From 10 January, in line with the changes to section 99FA of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993, this will not be permitted and advice fees can only be charged to a member’s account for personal advice given to that individual member.
Now live
Important change for AFSLs: New Advice Fee Recipient Statements
From November 2024, we no longer issue Recipient Created Tax Invoices (RCTIs). Instead, we now issue Advice Fee Recipient Statements. Like RCTIs, Advice Fee Recipient Statements still contain the details of the advice fees paid. This change was implemented in early November, following ATO guidance released in December 2023 that superannuation funds are not eligible to claim GST for adviser services fees.