The Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) has released the legislative instrument and explanatory statement for its examination standard.
The legislative instrument was informed through consultation received in 26 submissions during the legislative instrument final consultation process for this standard in December 2018 and January 2019.
Under the final standard, FASEA has reduced the reading time for the exam to 15 minutes within a total 3.5 hour sitting period. FASEA has also clarified that exam content under the topic of Financial Adviser Regulatory and Legal Requirements will cover the Tax Agents Services Act (TASA) only, and not the somewhat broader requirements as set out by the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB).
Existing advisers are required to pass the examination by 1 January 2021 in order to continue to remain on the register of relevant providers. New entrants are required to pass the examination during their professional year before they move to indirect supervision (quarters 3 and 4, approximately 6 months into the professional year) as required in the Work and Training (Professional Year) Determination 2018 and FPS003 Work & Training (Professional Year) policy.
A financial services licensee is required to ensure that their authorised representatives have passed the examination. A licensee is required to notify ASIC for the purposes of updating the register of relevant providers, that the relevant provider or provisional relevant provider has passed the examination (s1546Y of the act).
Additionally, FASEA has noted that it will consider the addition of further exam centres in 2019 and 2020 for relevant providers sitting the exam in regional areas depending on adviser interest and availability of facilities.
The legislative instrument has been registered on the government’s Legislative Instruments Register and can be downloaded from here. The matching explanatory statement contains additional guidance for stakeholders in the operation and structure of the exam, and can be viewed here.
FASEA’s latest examination policy, updated to February 2019, can be downloaded here.
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