The most times an adviser sat the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) exam is five, which eventually saw them passing.
There were still 1,437 advisers who had attempted the exam, but were yet to pass.
The final exam for 2021 would be held between 4 November to 9 November, and results would be received approximately before Christmas.
Speaking at Senate Estimates, Stephen Glenfield, FASEA chief executive, was asked what advisers who received a fail result in that exam would do: would they be given time to sell their business and find alternative employment or would they be required to sell their business between Christmas and New Years.
“We tried to run the exams as long as we possibly can in the year to give people the opportunity to sit,” Glenfield said.
“If you don’t pass, come 1 January, 2022, you do come off the Financial Adviser Register (FAR), which means you can’t give advice.
“You do have an option under the Corporations Act to come back and sit the exam in 2022 and if you pass you can come back onto the FAR.
“You can’t give advice during the period you’re off [the FAR], so the question would be can you wait a period to try and sit again or do you not think you can pass and will you need to move your business on.”
