A nurse has tearfully told the banking royal commission she was left homeless by bad financial advice.

Jacqueline McDowall and her truck driver husband were advised by Westpac to sell their family home, move their superannuation to a self-managed scheme and take out $1 million of life insurance.

A 16-year customer of Westpac, she and her truck driver husband visited a financial planner in 2015 to organise a loan to purchase a bed and breakfast in regional Victoria to operate in retirement.

The couple were told they were able to use their self-managed super funds (SMSF) and borrow up to $2 million to secure the property.

As a result, the McDowalls sold their family home.

But after months of meetings and an upfront payment of $27,000, the McDowalls were instead told they were unable to get the loan as the law states SMSFs can't be used to buy a home to live in – something the adviser should have told them from the start.

Jacqueline McDowall and her husband sold their home on Westpac advice, only to be told they were unable to secure a loan. (9NEWS)

In a cruel blow, the adviser told the couple they could instead borrow $200,000 for a rental property, even though they had no home of their own.

"We sold our family home on your advice. Now we don't have a family home to live in," she recalled telling the adviser.

"So why would we then buy an investment property to rent to someone else when we haven't even got a property to live in ourselves?"

The adviser would have earned $16,690 in revenue from the plan, while the McDowalls were also hit with $11,000 in fees.

"All along, at the end of it, I felt they were just aiming for us to take out a property to rent to someone else … an investment property you can't live in," Ms McDowall said.

"I just felt we had been led up the garden path and lied to."

Ms McDowall compared the experience to visiting a doctor, saying she expected trained experts to offer sound advice.

"I was too embarrassed to tell anybody. I felt humiliated, stupid," she said.

READ MORE: CBA CHARGED DEAD CLIENTS FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES

Under cross-examination by senior counsel assisting the commission Rowena Orr, Westpac executive Michael Wright admitted the advice "was not in the McDowalls' best interests".

"It was not good advice," he said.

"It was poor advice by default."

Ms McDowall leaves the royal commission hearing in Melbourne today. (AAP) (AAP)

While the couple were awarded $47,000 in compensation and paid $60,000 into their super fund by the financial ombudsman, Ms McDowall said the couple were still renting and would likely never own their own home again.

The Turnbull government announced the Commission late last year after significant and prolonged pressure from the Opposition, the Greens and from Coalition MPs.

Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce admitted today he was wrong to resist calls for the royal commission.

Treasurer Scott Morrison defended the timing of the commission, pointing to the recently introduced banking executive accountability regime and stronger powers for the sector's watchdog.

"The government has been taking action in the financial sector, is taking action and will continue to take action," he said.