Australia is moving to overhaul parts of its financial advice and superannuation system following scandals that exposed weaknesses in how retirement savings are protected.

The federal government has announced reforms aimed at doing two things at once: making basic financial advice more accessible while increasing accountability across the superannuation sector.

Under the new framework, APRA-regulated super funds and life insurers will be able to employ a new class of advisers to provide members with simpler, targeted financial guidance. Banks and traditional financial advice licensees will initially be excluded from the model.

The government says the change could help Australians who currently avoid financial advice because of high fees or limited access.

But affordability is only one part of the reform.

The measures also respond to the collapse of the Shield Master Fund and First Guardian Master Fund, which affected almost 12,000 Australians and more than $1 billion in retirement savings.

Cold-calling and unlicensed lead-generation practices will face tougher restrictions, targeting a pathway that has been used to encourage Australians to switch their superannuation into potentially unsuitable investments.

Regulators will also receive stronger powers. APRA will be able to impose capital requirements on super trustees, while the ATO and ASIC will have greater ability to identify suspicious superannuation switching and potential fraud.

People establishing self-managed super funds will also face new education requirements, while proposed changes will expand the funding base of the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort.

The reforms represent a significant shift in the balance between access and protection.

The challenge for policymakers will be ensuring that cheaper financial guidance does not come at the expense of quality, while making sure Australians can have greater confidence that their retirement savings are protected.