Netwealth manages advice fees for Super Accelerator and Wealth Accelerator accounts, ensuring compliance with legislation and member consent. Fees cover services like retirement planning, investment advice, and estate planning. Various fee structures exist, including upfront, ongoing, fixed term, and ASX-listed securities fees. Fee consents are required, with regular reviews and exception management processes to protect members. Fees are deducted bi-monthly, with transparent reporting and renewal procedures in place.
Advice fees are agreed between you and your Nominated Financial Adviser, for services provided by your Nominated Financial Adviser or their AFS Licensee in relation to your interest in your Netwealth account. Netwealth oversees advice fees deducted from Super Accelerator and Wealth Accelerator accounts under relevant legislation, ensuring fees align with allowable services like retirement planning and investment advice. This guide details the fee requirements, allowable services (within super) and the relevant processes to apply fees to an account.
Overview
Superannuation trustees, including Netwealth, must follow strict laws when allowing advice fees to be taken from members’ superannuation accounts. These laws are designed to ensure that advice fees are only charged for approved services, are properly monitored, and members’ interests are protected.
Covered in this article:
Advice fee exception management process
Establishing and maintaining advice fees at Netwealth
What types of fee structures are available?
Excluding advice fees on fixed income assets
Fee consent requirements for ongoing and non-ongoing fees
What is required for a wholesale client?
Methods for providing fee consent for ongoing and non-ongoing fees
Types of signatures accepted for fee instructions
Adviser/Third Party consent forms
Ongoing advice fee implementation at Netwealth
How do I add a new ongoing fee arrangement?
What ongoing fees can be established and when?
How do I check that these changes have been made?
How can I view/track the fee arrangements I have set up online?
When are advice fees charged on my clients account?
Advice fee requirements
Through the ongoing monitoring and supervision of advice fees, Netwealth seeks to promote the following objectives in the interests of superannuation members:
- Access by members to financial services provided by Financial Advisers (Corporations Act S923c) to enable the members to make the best use of their superannuation, both through the provision of advice to the member and in assisting the member to manage their account;
- The provision of financial advice and management of the account is for the sole purpose of providing retirement benefits as those benefits relate to the member’s interest in the Netwealth Superannuation Master Fund (NSMF);
- The services associated with advice fees have been provided by a Financial Adviser;
- Member consent is received before any advice fees are deducted;
- Advice fees are transparent to members;
- Member account balance erosion is limited;
- Adviser error and/or misconduct detected early and managed effectively
Allowable Services
Netwealth has approved a list of the services that may be provided by a Financial Adviser or AFS Licensee in relation to a member’s account within the NSMF and for which an advice fee may be paid. Upon NIL receiving the member’s instruction and consent to deduct the fees associated with these services, those fees will be deducted from the member’s account (either on an ongoing or once-off basis). Allowable services include financial advice provided to the member and/or the Financial Adviser arranging aspects of the member’s superannuation account in the NSMF on the member’s behalf, in relation to the following matters:
| Structure & contributions | The suitability of the member’s superannuation arrangements, establishing their superannuation account, the amount and type of contributions to make to their superannuation account, the consolidation of superannuation benefits and rollovers into their superannuation account. |
| Investment | The investment strategy for the member’s superannuation account and/or the selection of investment options in the superannuation account. |
| Retirement Planning | Using the member’s superannuation account to accumulate savings for their retirement, transitioning to retirement, generating a regular income in retirement and/or managing Centrelink entitlements. |
| Estate Planning | Using the member’s superannuation as part of their estate planning strategies including beneficiary nominations. |
| Insurance | Using the member’s superannuation account for insurance and/or making a claim on insurance held through the superannuation account |
| Benefit Payments | Making a withdrawal or drawing an income from the member’s superannuation account. |
| Tax planning | Consideration of the impact of the member’s superannuation on their overall tax position, managing the tax payable on contributions to or income in their superannuation account and/or managing the tax on benefits received from the superannuation account. |
This may not be an exclusive list and in some circumstances, there may be additional services that are considered acceptable. Where an adviser indicates that the service provided differs to those above, these will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Advice fee review process
Netwealth conducts ongoing reviews to ensure the deduction of advice fees meets legislative requirements, adheres to Netwealth’s advice fee requirements and falls within Netwealth’s Allowable Services (as described above).
The ongoing review program is continually refined, and current processes include reviews on:
- Fees on initial application,
- Ongoing percentage advice fees,
- Ongoing dollar-based advice fees; and
- Ad-hoc reviews as required.
These reviews may be focused (but not limited to) accounts that have unusual or large advice fees, accounts with small balances, the investment profile of the member or any other factor that we deem gives rise to a risk of advice fees that may not meet the legislative requirements. The purpose of the review is to reduce the risk to members of advice fees paid without applicable superannuation services provided.
Netwealth is aware however that it does not have the information to make an assessment without the input of the Financial Adviser or their Licensee and will always work with the Financial Adviser and/or Licensee to ensure that we understand the arrangement.
Advice fee exception management process
Where it is identified that an advice fee may not meet legislative requirements or may not be adequately covered by a member’s fee consent, we will seek to work with the Financial Adviser to understand the circumstances and agree upon an appropriate resolution that will meet Netwealth’s obligations and the member’s interests.
Where the issue cannot be resolved, Netwealth will determine what further actions may be appropriate, and reserves the right under the Terms and Conditions for AFS Licensees, Advisers and Representatives to:
- Decline to deduct advice fees from a new account,
- Suspend, decrease, or turn off advice fees for one or more existing member accounts,
- Credit rebates to member accounts (to be deducted from the adviser during the next scheduled adviser remuneration cycle),
- Determine to not accept any further applications from the Financial Adviser,
- Escalate the matter to the Licensee,
- Communicate concerns directly to members; and
- If the matter cannot be resolved, report the matter to ASIC.
Should you have any questions about Netwealth’s advice fee Framework, please contact your BDM or email distributiongovernance@netwealth.com.au.
Establishing and maintaining advice fees at Netwealth
What types of fee structures are available?
| Type of advice fee | If you have Nominated a Financial Adviser, you may agree with them to pay advice fees as follows |
| Upfront advice fee |
A fee applied at the time of application.
An upfront advice fee can be calculated as:
|
| Ongoing advice fee |
A fee applied on an ongoing basis and intended to continue for more than 12 months.
An ongoing advice fee can be calculated as:
Percentage based fees are calculated daily and are deducted monthly in arrears from your cash account.
For fixed dollar amount fee, you must specify the month in which the fee is to commence. The fee is deducted from your cash account in that month and at the end of each period thereafter (i.e. month, quarter, half year or year), as agreed by you and your Nominated Financial Adviser. |
| Fixed term advice fee |
A fee applied on an regular basis for up to 12 months.
A fixed term advice fee can be calculated as:
The maximum term for a fixed term advice is 12 months.
Percentage based fees are calculated daily and are deducted monthly in arrears from your cash account.
For fixed dollar amount fee, you must specify the month in which the fee is to commence. The full amount of the fee is deducted from your cash account in that month and, thereafter at the end of each month, quarter, half year or year, as agreed by you and your Nominated Financial Adviser. |
| Advice fee - ASX listed securities |
An ongoing advice fee applied to transactions in Australian listed securities placed through our nominated broker.
An advice fee – ASX listed securities can be calculated as:
This fee is only available through Wealth Accelerator Plus and Super Accelerator Plus. |
| Once only advice fee | You may agree with your Nominated Financial Adviser to pay a single, once-only fee for specific advice services. Netwealth deducts the fee from your cash account and pays the specified amount to your Nominated Financial Adviser's AFS Licensee. |
Netwealth may agree to provide for the payment of advice fee in other circumstances or calculated in other ways. The type and amount of such advice fees must be previously authorised by you and agreed with your Nominated Financial Adviser. You may instruct Netwealth to pay the advice fees to more than one adviser or AFS Licensee.
Excluding advice fees on fixed income assets
This section is for the use of Adviser Representatives (AR) only. If you are a client and wish to learn more about this feature, please contact your AR or Netwealth at contact@netwealth.com.au.
You can tailor fee arrangements with your clients to exclude term deposits, term annuities, and cash account balances when calculating your advice fees.
To complete this, login to the Netwealth portal, select a client and navigate to Client Details > Fees > Update Fees > Edit Fees. Under the 'Arrangement Details' you can find the check boxes that you can select to exclude these fees.
Fee consent requirements for ongoing and non-ongoing fees
Netwealth requires fee consent from your clients on certain ongoing and non-ongoing fee arrangements, with ongoing fee arrangements also requiring annual renewal.
A summary of where client fee consent is required to be sent to Netwealth is set out below.
| Wealth Accelerator | Super Accelerator | Ongoing Renewal | ||
|
Non-ongoing fees
|
Fixed term advice fee | No | Yes | n/a |
| Once only advice fee | No^ | Yes | n/a | |
| Upfront advice fee | No^ | Yes | n/a | |
|
Ongoing fees
|
Ongoing advice fee | Yes* | Yes | Yes |
| Advice fee ASX share trades | Yes* | Yes | Yes | |
| Ongoing advice fee - insurance (Super only) | n/a | Yes | Yes |
*See what is required for a wholesale client?
^Netwealth requires a signed fee instruction to load and deduct the fee
What is required for a wholesale client?
The requirement to provide a fee consent generally does not apply to wholesale clients and you can submit a fee instruction form signed by the client to start an ongoing fee arrangement. Reconsent is not required for wholesale clients.
Where a wholesale client status expires after the 2-year period and Netwealth does not receive a new wholesale certificate, the fee arrangement will maintain for a further 12 months and a renewal will be required after this time.
If you prefer to submit a consent form for your wholesale clients, you may do so following the steps outlined above.
Methods for providing fee consent for ongoing and non-ongoing fees
| Netwealth Electronic Consent | Netwealth form | Adviser/Third party Fee Consent form | ||
| Non - ongoing fees | Wealth Accelerator | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Super Accelerator | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Ongoing fees | Wealth Accelerator | Yes* | Yes | Yes |
| Super Accelerator | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
* Where an adviser submits an electronic consent for jointly controlled account(s) a Netwealth fee consent form will be generated for client signing. A jointly controlled account includes:
- More than one individual sharing the same Netwealth username (such as a husband and wife each with a Super Accelerator account linked under the same username)
- A client with a Wealth Accelerator account in the name of an entity that has been set to require 'more than one to sign' via the application process.
- A Wealth Accelerator account held in joint names that has been set to require 'more than one to sign’ via the application process.
Types of signatures accepted for fee instructions:
| Document Type | Wet Signature | Drawn e-signature | Signature generated via e-signature facility | Ability to action through Netwealth account | Adviser Upload | |
| Super ongoing | Fee consent | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Fee instruction (attach consent) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Super non-ongoing | Fixed term fee instruction | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Once-only | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
| Wrap ongoing | Fee consent | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes* | Yes |
| Fee instruction (attach consent) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes* | Yes | |
| Wrap non-ongoing | Fixed term fee instruction | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes* | No |
| Once-only | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Wholesale accounts fee | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
*Wrap joint accounts and all signatory accounts will not be able to action online
Adviser/Third Party consent forms
Ongoing fee arrangements: Where a client consent form has been created by a third party that is not Netwealth, Netwealth will accept it for ongoing fee arrangements where the fee consent form meets the following requirements:
- It clearly identifies the account holder to which the consent applies,
- It clearly states the reference day,
- It clearly states the termination date which is 150 days after the reference day,
- It clearly states the account number,
- It clearly states the amount to be deducted or a reasonable estimate of that amount,
- It clearly authorises Netwealth to deduct the relevant fee from the account holder’s account,
- For renewals, the fees consented to clearly match the existing fee arrangement on the client’s account or fees on, the instruction provided to us by the client,
- The adviser / fee recipient clearly matches the adviser on the fee instruction,
- Information about the services that the client will be entitled to receive under the ongoing fee arrangement during the upcoming period,
- It has been signed and dated by the account holder(s).
It is your obligation to make sure your consent follows the requirements set out by the relevant legislation and/or ASIC instruments. Netwealth will not assess whether the consent complies with regulatory requirements and acceptance of a consent by Netwealth should not be taken as endorsement of the legal validity of the consent.
Non-ongoing fee arrangements: Third party fee consent forms cannot be used for non-ongoing fee arrangements such as once only advice fees and fixed term advice fees.
Ongoing advice fee implementation at Netwealth
How do I add a new ongoing fee arrangement?
To establish a new ongoing fee arrangement, you will need an account number.
- For online applications, an account number is automatically generated as part of the application, and you create an ongoing fee consent form for your client to sign. Note - If you are establishing an income stream account with multiple rollovers/contributions funding it, you will need to add the fees after account creation.
Please note: If you are establishing a new income stream account and do not already have a Netwealth accumulation account, an accumulation account will be created as part of the process as a temporary account. This allows multiple rollovers and or contributions to be received before being transferred to the income stream account once all monies have been received. In this scenario, you will need to wait until the income stream account is created before adding a new fee arrangement, as the income stream account number will not be known until account creation.
- For paper applications, you cannot establish an ongoing fee arrangement during the initial application, you must first establish a Netwealth account to generate an account number. Once you have the account number, you can complete the ongoing fee consent form to establish the ongoing fee arrangement.
What ongoing fees can be established and when?
| Document Type | Applied to | Online application | Paper application | Post account creation - online | Post account creation – paper form |
| Ongoing advice fee – fixed % | Total balance | Yes* | No | Yes | Yes |
| MA assets | No | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Excluding managed account assets | No | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Excluding cash assets | Yes* | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Ongoing advice fee – tiered % | Total balance | Yes* | No | Yes | Yes |
| Ongoing advice fee – fixed $ | Total balance | Yes* | No | Yes | Yes |
*For accumulation accounts and income streams with one rollover expected only.
Adding a new fee consent
When adding a new fee consent, you can either renew an existing fee consent or replace it with a new fee consent.
Fee Renewal: Where the fee structure is remaining the same and the reference date is either remaining the same or changing to a date within 12 months of the existing date, follow the steps under Fee Renewals.
Fee Consent: Where there hasn't been an arrangement on the account, or the existing fee structure and/or reference date is changing for the next fee consent period. From 17 April 2026 you can now add a new fee consent without removing the existing fee consent on file, this is called Smart Add.
Adding a new fee consent where there is no existing fee arrangement
1. Search for the client after logging in and navigate via the main menu to Client Details > Fees > Update Fees page.
2. Click the '+Add' button in the right corner of the table.
3. Populate all the new fee details on the page, then click 'Next'.
4. Select from one of the following options and click 'Next':
- Send the client the electronic consent for their approval. This will require the client to log into their online account and approve the transaction,
- This option is available for accounts with a single signatory requirement only. For all other account types, please use either of the following options.
- Upload a signed consent form now and the fee will be updated immediately, or
- Download a fee consent for your client(s) to sign and submit it at a later time.
The Pending fee remains on file for 60 days after the transaction is raised and then will switch to Rejected status if not approved. If you wish to upload the signed consent form after 60 days, you will be able to follow the above steps 1-4 and select 'Upload now' to upload the signed form and apply the fee immediately.
If you need to download the fee consent PDF at a later date, complete the following steps:
- Go to the Update Fees page
- Select Pending
- Select View on the pending arrangement
5. If you select option b), upload the form, complete the consent date (which is the date that the client signed the form) and click Submit. A transaction ID will be provided for this transaction.
6. If you select option a) or c), the fee consent will become Active/Inactive once the client consent is received, either:
- The client approves the online consent activity via logging in and approving the Advice Fee Consent activity on the Activities page, or
- Once the signed consent form is received and the form is uploaded to the Pending fee on the Update Fees page.
Please note: The new fee will be Inactive and will be in the 'Pending' tab if the fee start date is in the future - the fee will become Active at the start date.
7. If the new fee has been successfully created the new fee will appear is Active or Inactive once you exit out of the pop-up box.
A letter of confirmation will also be sent to the client via their preferred method of correspondence.
Changing an existing ongoing fee consent
Where there is an existing ongoing fee consent applied and the new fee structure will be different to the current fee consent and/or the reference date is changing to a date more than 12 months from the current reference date:
1. Follow the same steps 1-5 as 'Adding a new fee consent where there is no existing fee arrangement', completing the new fee details as required. Choose between the consent options.
2. If you choose Option B) and upload the signed consent form immediately, the new fee will be applied and replace the existing fee consent effective the date prior to the start date of the new fee consent.
3. If you choose Option A) or C) the fee will be applied once the client consent is received. The new fee consent will remain in Pending status for 60 days awaiting the client to approve the activity online or the signed consent form to be uploaded. Once the client consent is received, the new fee arrangement will replace the existing fee arrangement effective the date prior to the new fee start date.
The existing fee will become Withdrawn where the new fee start date is in the future or Withdrawn Expired where the new fee start date is a previous date from today’s date.
The previous fee will charge up to the start date of the new fee in accordance with the fee calculations for the previous and new fee. Please see the fee calculation summary under the section 'When are advice fees charged on my clients account?' for further clarification on how different fee types and structures are calculated and charged.
This will be the same for all ongoing fees replacing ongoing fees for retail accounts. This option to add a new Pending fee awaiting client consent while retaining the existing Active fee arrangement is not available for the following scenarios:
- Wholesale accounts: To change the fee structure for a wholesale account, you will need to remove the current fee arrangement if you wish to send the approval activity to the investor to approve.
- There is an existing Pending/Pending Renewal fee awaiting client consent on file: You will need to delete the existing Pending/Pending Renewal fee to be able to add a new fee consent or renew the existing fee consent.
- Incompatible overlaps with the existing fee on file such as:
- The new fee overlaps with the existing fee consent but starts after the existing fee period start date and ends prior to the existing fee period reference date.
- The new fee period is completely replacing the existing fee period (ie. same period start date and reference date).
You will need to remove the existing fee prior to being able to apply the new fee pending client consent for these scenarios.
Please note: Fixed term fees will not be automatically removed when applying a new ongoing fee. If a fixed term fee arrangement should be removed when the new ongoing fee commences, please delete the existing fixed term fee by clicking the rubbish bin icon, selecting 'No' of the two options and choose the Delete Effective Date as the date prior to the new ongoing fee start date.
The same is true for an existing ongoing fee and applying a new fixed term fee. You will be able to create the new fee arrangement while the existing fee remains Active on file and remove the existing fee once the client consent is received.
How do I check that these changes have been made?
Search for the client after logging and navigate via the main menu to Client Details > Fees > Client Fees to show current fees. Active and Inactive fees are also displayed on this page. Fees can also be viewed on the Update Fees page (Client Details > Fees > Update Fees).
If you are an adviser, you can run the Client Fees report under Adviser Reports to view active fee arrangements across your client base.
For more information about reporting see: How can I view/track the fee arrangements I have set up online?
Fee renewals
This section relates to clients who have previously provided Netwealth with a fee consent form and the reference date is within the next 60 days from today and up to 150 days after the reference date.
Where a fee consent has been renewed, it cannot be renewed until the next renewal period. The Renew button will only appear 60 days prior to the current reference date and up to 150 days after the reference date.
When renewing a fee, you can only amend the reference date, which can be brought within 12 months of the current reference date, and add the services for which the ongoing fee is being charged for Super Accelerator accumulation or income stream accounts.
If you do not wish to proceed with the renewal, follow the above steps under ‘Adding a new fee consent’.
If you need to change any of the fee details or structure and/or change the reference date to another date more than 12 months from the current reference date, follow the above steps to Add a new fee consent with the updated details.
To renew the existing ongoing fee consent:
1.Locate the client from the adviser portal and navigate to Client Details > Fees > Update Fees.
2. To proceed with the fee renewal, select the Renew button.
Please Note: the next reference date will be automatically set to 12 months from the current reference date. If you would like to change the next reference date to a date earlier than the automatic reference date, you can select this date using the date picker and this is still treated as a 'renewal'.
For accumulation accounts, you will also need to enter the services for which the fees are charged in this section.
3. Select from one of the following options and click 'Next':
a) Send the client the electronic consent for their approval. This will require the client to log into their online account and approve the transaction.
b) Upload a signed consent form now and the fee will be updated immediately.
c) Download a fee consent form to be signed by your client(s) and submit at a later time.
If you select option b), upload the file, complete the consent date (which is the date that the client signed the form) and click Submit. A transaction ID will be provided for this transaction.
If the fee renewal has been successful, you will see the status of the fee added on the Update Fees page. The reference date is now set to one year (or less) after the previous reference date and the renew button has disappeared. This means that the fee has been renewed.
A letter of confirmation will also be sent to the client via their preferred method of correspondence.
How can I view/track the fee arrangements I have set up online?
To help you track your fee arrangements, Netwealth are updating the online fee profile and client fees pages to make it simpler to view current and historic fee arrangements.
The following reports with ongoing fee arrangement details will include fee consent information:
- Adviser/licensee: The 'Client Fees’ bulk report
- Client: The 'Adviser Fee Statement' and 'Client details' reports
When are advice fees charged on my clients account?
Netwealth processes advice fee deductions from client accounts twice a month. These scheduled fee runs are divided into Mid-Month Processing and End of Month Processing, each covering different types of fees and time periods.
| Processing Time | Effective Period | Fees Paid | Dates | Paid to |
| Mid-Month | Between the 1st and the 15th of the month |
Once off or initial advice fees*
|
Approximate:
Processed – 19th of the month
Paid - on or before the 25th of the same month |
Licensee (please refer to them for specific payment windows) |
| End of Month | Between 1st and end of month |
Ongoing fees*
Fixed term fees*
Once off or initial* fees processed 16th – End of month |
Approximate:
Processed – 5th of the following month
Paid - on or before the 13th of the month.
|
Licensee (please refer to them for specific payment windows)
|
*Ongoing Fee Consent
Ongoing fees are charged in full at the end of each month, based on the details for that month.
- For percentage-based fees, Netwealth calculates the daily rate and applies the total at the end of the month.
- For fixed dollar fees, the full amount is applied as a lump sum.
Fixed amount will be charged for the entire month, regardless of when the fee is added to the account, or the start date of the consent. Percentage based fees will charge from the actual start date.
*Fixed Term Fee Consent
Fixed term advice fees are also charged in full at the end of each month, based on the applicable details for that period.
- For percentage-based fees, Netwealth calculates the daily rate and applies the total at the end of the month.
- For fixed dollar fees, the full amount is applied as a lump sum.
Fees are only charged for the days covered by the fixed consent. For example, if a fee starts on the 15th of the month, Netwealth will only calculate and charge the fee from the 15th for that first month.
*Once Off/Initial Fees
Once off or initial fees are applied to the client account as soon as the fee is processed.
These fees are then paid out based on when they were processed. Depending on the timing, this will be included in the mid-month or end of month fee run.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is an annual fee for an ongoing fee applied?
This will be charged at the start of the arrangement, and again 12 months after that.
When is the annual fee for a fixed term fee applied?
This will be charged at the end of the term date.
Why is the fixed term fee amount changing each month?
Fixed term fees are calculated by (amount of the fee / number of days in the term) x number of days in the month. This will generally result in varied amounts each month based on the number of days in the month.
The ongoing annual fee was not charged to the account?
If the ongoing fee was uploaded after the starting month (i.e. fee started in June, but form was not uploaded until August) please let Netwealth know if a fee needs to be charged via the upload notes.
Will Netwealth back charge fees?
No. However if required please request a back charge in the fee consent request or upload notes and Netwealth will review this on a case by case basis.