Has the Wealth-Building Playbook Changed Forever?

For decades, the path to building wealth in Australia seemed relatively straightforward: buy your home, purchase an investment property, use negative gearing to help manage the cost, and eventually focus more heavily on superannuation.

But with changes to negative gearing, capital gains tax and investment structures on the horizon, that traditional strategy is becoming much harder to follow—especially for Australians starting from scratch. So what does financial advice look like now?

In this episode, James Wrigley from First Financial joins Veronica and Chris to unpack how the new tax environment is changing the way Australians build wealth. James explains why some clients in their 40s are now being encouraged to put substantially more money into superannuation than they would have previously, while still maintaining money outside super for flexibility.

The conversation goes well beyond property. We explore what higher capital gains tax means for shares and ETFs, why automatically rebalancing funds can create additional capital gains, how the proposed changes could affect family trusts and bucket companies, and why some investors may eventually move towards investment company structures instead. We also look at whether property still makes sense when negative gearing becomes less attractive—and why upgrading or renovating your own home could become a more compelling alternative.

For younger Australians, James also discusses the First Home Super Saver Scheme and why it could receive more attention as the investment landscape changes. For older Australians, the conversation turns to retirement, investment property sell-down strategies and the growing trend towards "giving while living" as wealth transfers between generations earlier. The message throughout is clear: higher taxes may change the maths, but they shouldn't become an excuse to stop investing altogether.

Episode Highlights01:49 – How the Budget Changes Financial Advice

05:19 – Why Super Has Become Plan A

07:33 – Why Trusts Are Losing Their Appeal

10:09 – Division 296: What the $3M Super Rule Means

15:15 – Why CGT Makes Investing More Complicated

19:44 – Will Higher CGT Kill Investment Aspiration?

24:24 – Why Property Still Has a Contrarian Case