Speaking to Good Returns just a few hours before the start of the new regime, Hughes said his hope was that, "consumers are better served with access to better qualified advice, properly supervised individuals, and those in the market themselves get the opportunity to hold their badge up and say it was worth the cost, it was worth the investment in time and now we have something that distinguishes us from those who frankly could have got their qualifications out of the back of a Weetbix box."

He dismissed fears that regulation could lead to a reduction in the number of financial advisers, citing his experience working with the Australian regulator a decade ago.

"I had exactly the same arguments then when I was working with the ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) and was part of the team responsible for implementing the FSR (Financial Services Reform) regime over there, exactly the same arguments, we'll make it uncommercial for people to run advisory businesses, we'll squeeze out good advisers, the end game will be the consumers deprived of the very thing we want them to get," he said.

"The reality is that has not happened and do you know what's happening in Australia today? More people going into financial advisory businesses. . . I'm not saying we have to mimic everything that's done in Australia but the same arguments were heard and answered there."

Hughes said that as of Thursday night, there were just over 1,600 AFAs, 4,000 RFAs and 63 QFEs employing around 20,000 employees able to give advice, "not bad numbers for a population of about four million people."

And for any advisers not registered but tempted to continue operating he had a warning.

"For people operating on the perimeter and being cynical about the application of law and waiting to see if they get found out, well, [they're due] a nasty surprise."