NAB’s New Report Shines a Spotlight on the Future of Professional Services
Australia’s professional services sector is entering what a new report is calling the "Performance Era".
This is a period marked by strong growth ambitions, digital transformation, and a critical need for future-focused planning. For general insurance brokers, the key message is to embrace adaptability as the landscape evolves.
According to NAB’s 2025 Performance Era Report, 73% of firms across legal, accounting, financial planning, real estate and insurance broking are planning to grow in the next 12 months, with 71% expecting strong revenue gains (p. 3–4). This optimism comes despite mounting challenges around staffing, costs, and regulatory pressure.
The report highlights five key strategies driving this new era of growth: people, acquisitions, succession planning, diversification, and technology. For insurance brokers, these themes resonate closely, especially around talent attraction and filling the knowledge and skills gap in the sector.
Hiring and retention remain the most popular growth lever, with 79% of firms investing in staff (p. 5). For brokers facing generational change and an evolving client base, the importance of clear career pathways and a strong cultural fit cannot be overstated.
Meanwhile, 1 in 4 firms have made acquisitions in the past two years, and the same number plan to do so again, primarily to scale operations and access talent (p. 8). Yet, as NAB’s experts caution, successful M&A depends heavily on culture alignment and pre-deal planning.
Succession planning, or the lack thereof, looms as a blind spot. Over half (58%) of firms surveyed do not have a formal succession plan in place (p. 10), which is concerning to say the least.
The report also underscores the growing shift toward diversification. For example, 17% of firms are looking to expand into new services, while many financial professionals are already embracing advisory roles in areas like debt and aged care (p. 13).
Perhaps most transformative, however, is the role of technology. With 33% of firms investing in new systems, AI and automation are emerging as both, an opportunity and a threat, improving efficiency while demanding significant investment and change management (p. 14).
NAB’s report notes that the future of professional services will reward those who scale strategically, plan succession early, embrace tech, and invest in people to future-proof their businesses.