The FPA plans to increase its membership numbers with the chief of the advice body stating current figures are not yet high enough to warrant the transition to a professional association.
Mark Rantall told InvestorDaily the association will focus on membership as part of its strategic plan to increase its 10,000 member base.
"Where we've got 50 per cent of the financial planners in this country of individual practitioner members we believe that's probably not enough, in fairness, to complete the evolution into a profession," Rantall said.
"Our strategic intent is quite clear and that's to evolve financial planning into a respective profession."
He said the association has "built all the component parts" that are needed for a profession.
"The next steps are the growth of the organisation to evolve and encourage as many financial planners as is possible to join their professional association," he said.
As part of its push for higher professional standards, the FPA plans to offer greater support to its members. This includes the soon-to-be launched fee-for-service tool kit.
"We're just about to launch a fee-for-service tool for advisers who haven't completed that journey," he said.
"This is really more of a self-help mechanism to help those advisers who haven't made the transition. Our research shows that 70 per cent of advisers have actually made that transition or provide choice. But there is still some work to be done around that."
According to Investment Trends' Planner Business Model Report July 2011, the FPA held the greatest membership, with 41 per cent of planners stating they are a certified financial planner member of the association.
The report, which surveyed 1396 financial planners, also found a strong majority of financial planners or 88 per cent are in favour of restricting the term 'financial planner' to only those who meet clearly defined levels of qualifications and professional standards.
