The corporate regulator has extended the deadline for financial adviser registration once again, pushing it into the new year.
Relevant providers will now need to be registered by 1 February 2024.
ASIC attributed the extended deadline to the fact that the accompanying legislation, Treasury Laws Amendment (2023 Measures No. 1) Bill, remained before parliament. It had been expected to pass before the end of the last financial year.
The requirement was introduced by the Financial Sector Reform (Hayne Royal Commission Response—Better Advice) Act 2021, in response to Recommendation 2.10 of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry.
It was an additional element to the pre-existing requirement for AFS licensees to appoint a relevant provider to the Financial Advisers Register (FAR) after they had been authorised.
Speaking at the FAAA’s United Association Roadshow 2023 in May, Leah Sciacca, ASIC’s senior executive leader, explained the delays at the request of the government.
“There are currently some amendments to the Better Advice Act before parliament that relate to financial adviser registration, and this may impact the timing of ASIC launching its registration system,” Sciacca said.
She stated that in the meantime, along with ensuring ASIC’s IT infrastructure was ready for this process, it had prepared industry guidance about registration requirements. This included how to register a relevant provider, what happened when registration ceased, and what declarations needed to be made by AFS licensees as part of the process.
“We’ve also developed webinars to walk AFS licensees through the practical steps of applying to register their relevant providers,” she added.
“ASIC will continue to monitor the amendments before parliament and assist industry in understanding its obligations in relation to registration.”
A further extension to the registration requirement is expected to allow additional time for:
- Parliament to consider the improvements proposed by the Bill;
- ASIC to assist the financial advice industry to understand and comply with the registration requirement by issuing regulatory guidance and conducting webinars; and
- Australian financial service (AFS) licensees to understand the registration requirement and to make necessary applications to register their relevant providers with ASIC.
In November 2022, the government announced it would delay the registration requirement to 1 July 2023 to allow certain improvements to be made to the Stage 1 registration requirement.
In May 2023, ASIC announced a second delay, pushing the day to 1 October 2023.
The extended deadline marks the third extension for financial adviser registration.
