Clients on their own if advisers don’t pass exam

It will be up to clients to find a new adviser if their current adviser loses their qualification by not completing the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) exam.

Answering a question on notice to the Senate Economics Committee, ASIC said: “Where an adviser fails to pass the exam by the due date they must advise their clients that they are no longer able to provide advice.

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“In some cases, an adviser may help clients move to a new adviser. In other cases, it will be up to clients who want financial advice to find an adviser who has passed the exam.”

If an adviser had not passed the FASEA exam by 1 January, 2021, they were not legally allowed to provide advice to retail clients.

However, an extension was granted to 30 September, 2022, if they had failed the exam twice before the 1 January deadline.

ASIC said the law did not distinguish between advisers who were licensees and advisers who were not licensees in respect to the date by which the exam must be passed.

Advisers could register for the remaining two exam sittings scheduled for 2021, as the November exam was granted an exemption for the three-month rule.

Registration for the September exam closed next week, but registration for the November exam was expected to remain open until after results were received for the September exam.

“Once the legislative instrument is finalised, the booking information and FAQs will be updated on our website,” FASEA previously said.

“November exam information will be updated to ensure that September candidates are able to register for the November exam.

“A refund is not required, as September candidates will receive their results in time to register for the November sitting.”

ASIC would take over responsibility for the exam after the Government announced late last year it would transition FASEA’s role into the corporate regulator and Treasury.

Remaining FASEA exam dates for 2021

Source: FASEA