The ceremony shone a spotlight on the achievements of the best and brightest individuals and practices operating in the Australian independent financial advice sector.

A total of 31 winners were chosen out of 248 finalists, who competed across 18 individual and 11 group submissions-based categories. The highest-scoring individual and group winners were also presented with the coveted Excellence Award.

Click here to view the full list of winners.

The Excellence Award – Individual was won by Dawn Thomas, senior wealth adviser at The Wealth Designers. Ms Thomas was named Individual Thought Leader of the Year earlier in the evening.

Melbourne-based financial services company The Hopkins Group won the Excellence Award – Company at this year’s ceremony after clinching the Holistic Advice Firm of the Year trophy.

The practice provides a range of services including financial planning, finance and mortgage broking, property management, investment and advice, SMSF management, and tax preparation and accounting.

The awards ceremony also presented an opportunity for members of the financial advice sector to network with their peers and industry leaders.

Australian comedian, television presenter and member of the satirical team The Chaser, Julian Morrow, was the emcee and provided entertainment throughout the evening.

Commenting on the winners, ifa editor Maja Garaca Djurdjevic said: “I would like to congratulate all the winners and thank everyone that joined us at our 10th annual Excellence Awards.

“We were honoured to celebrate the outstanding achievements of advisers right across the country whose hard work, dedication and innovation have led the way for the industry.

“By uniting and advocating for advisers and financial services firms, we aim not only to acknowledge deserving contributions but also to ignite inspiration for the upcoming wave of aspiring professionals in the realm of financial advice.”

Since launching in 2014, the awards program has become the benchmark for excellence, showcasing the depth of talent among Australia’s leading independent financial advisers and their practices.

The program simultaneously affirms the sector’s essential role in supporting the expansion of Australia’s economy.

The awards were open to all businesses operating in Australia supporting the industry, from senior executives to young advisers, newcomers, paraplanners, and marketing consultants, along with advice practices, and training and education providers.

SMSF Adviser and ifa would like to thank the award partners for their invaluable support, including:

• Principal partner: Padua
• Platinum partner: FTSE Russell
• Gold partners: Association of Independently Owned Financial Professionals, Lifespan Financial Planning, Lonsec, and Mortgage Choice (part of REA Group)
• Research partner: Agile Market Intelligence
• Charity partner: Invictus Australia

Click here to view the full list of this year’s winners.

For more information about the awards ceremony, click here.