The vast majority of superannuation funds expect to substantially increase their advice services to members in the next three years.

A survey of the audience at the Conference of Major Superannuation Funds on the Gold Coast found 73 per cent of respondents indicated they would substantially increase their advice services, while 23 per cent expected to marginally increase their services.

Only 4 per cent said not to increasing their services in the next three years.

Industry Super Network chief executive David Whiteley said contrary to a widely-held belief, industry funds were supporters of financial advice.

"We long held the view that impartial financial advice is good for people," Whiteley said.

"The compare the pair campaign was not anti-advice, but it was about sales commissions."

But he also argued industry funds needed to adjust the advice model to provide the best service to their members.

"The model that is out there now is that people pay half a per cent or so on an ongoing basis to get access to ongoing financial advice. That is an incredibly costly way of doing it," he said.

"As the current system is set up, most of that advice is not in their best interest.

"People need different pieces of advice at different stages of their life and quite often for members it is just a transaction [which does not require ongoing advice], it is quite a different philosophy from the current financial planning industry in Australia."

Industry Fund Services chief executive Kay Thawley said there was scope for industry funds to work with third parties on the delivery of advice to members.

"Can we reach more members by using appropriate third-party distribution alongside our in-house advisers? We don't have to own everybody that has to speak for our fund," Thawley said.

But she said industry funds would have to have control over how the advice was delivered to members.

"I would advocate that we set the standards and values that we as industry funds promote to members," she said.

"If we can agree on standards by which advice to members of industry super funds will be provided, then of course a credit union could choose to be a distributor for industry funds."

She also advocated that advice services should be differentiated for people over 45 years of age, because that group needed more complex advice as they started to plan for retirement.