At several times in our lives we need financial advice. Whether it is to review an investment strategy, pay off the mortgage more quickly or choose an appropriate retirement product, the result will depend on the quality of advice you receive.

However, getting "free" advice doesn't necessarily equate with good advice.

If you are not paying an adviser out of your own pocket it means he or she is earning commissions from the product producer, or fund manager.

The potential trap here is that he or she may be tempted to steer you towards the product with the highest commission rather than the investment that is best for you.

Most licensed advisers work hard at gaining their expertise and want their consumers to do well but others are less inclined. Fortunately they tend to be in the minority.

So what sort of commissions are there? There may be upfront and ongoing commissions and sometimes exit penalties - all of which can cost up to 3 per cent of the total amount invested.

Trail commissions leach the investment over time because they are paid annually whether you receive ongoing advice or not.

Advice received in return for commissions is fine so long as you are aware of the potential for conflicts of interest.

For example, would your adviser be happy to recommend an investment property, cash or an industry super fund if such a recommendation generated no commissions for him or her?

Some advisers work on a mix of fees and commissions.

Generally the best way to find an adviser is by word of mouth. But you can also try the Financial Planning Association, which will give you a list of advisers in your area.

Check whether they are tied to any particular product provider or financial institutions and ask about their commissions and fees.

Another port of call is Industry Fund Financial Planning which services largely, although not exclusively, industry fund members. It has about 50 licensed planners.

For advising on a $300,000 financial plan, IFFP's cost is about $2290, or 0.7 per cent of the balance, made up of $220 an hour for a planner and $135 hourly for a para planner.

This cost covers an initial consultation, covering details of your assets and debts, annual income, insurance and goals. A good planner will be able to provide you with a good investment strategy.

Importantly they will ask you about your attitude to risk.

This consultation will take somewhere between 30 and 60 minutes.

Two or three weeks later you will go back to review the plan and either sign off on it, modify it, or walk away from it, although you will have to pay the cost of setting it up.

An adviser earning salary and commissions typically charges between $400 and $1000 for the preparation of a plan and stands to earn commission of between 1 and 4 per cent of the money invested.

The total cost payable ranges between $3000 and $12,000.

By law, all commissions earned must be disclosed.

On top of the advisers' fees are fund management fees. The adviser should tell you how much these are.

The more complicated the financial plan and the more hours it takes, the higher the cost but you should be given a fixed price quote.

Whichever adviser you use - whether a fee for service adviser or one that earns commissions - he or she should give you a Statement of Advice which takes into account your objectives, financial situation and needs. This should be kept in case there is a dispute.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission which regulates advisers and licenses them, keeps a list of authorised planners on its website - AFS Licensees Register. It is essential you check your adviser has such a licence.

Keeping the cost of independent advice down is a major challenge. David Whitely, chief executive of Industry Fund Services, says he can see a need for super funds to provide some limited advice to members.

"Quite often $40,000 or $50,000 is all members retire on," he says. "What industry funds would like to do is to provide limited, quite targeted advice as they are approaching retirement. The funds would like to talk to people about making higher contributions, talk to them about insurance, asset allocation in a way that is reasonably inexpensive and also for the fund."

Michael Dwyer, chief executive of First State Super, also says his board is looking at an appropriate financial advice model for his members.