The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) has called on advisers who still have not passed the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) exam to do everything they can to pass the exam this year despite FASEA saying existing advisers could sit the exam next year.
During the Senate Estimates Committee on Tuesday, FASEA chief executive, Stephen Glenfield, said under a section of the Corporations Act “existing advisers” while suspended from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) Financial Adviser Register could sit the FASEA exam next year but could not provide advice while they were off the register.
“You can’t give advice during the period you are off. So, the question would be ‘can you wait a period to try again?’ Or if you don’t think you can’t pass you have to think about moving your business on,” Glenfield said.
“I don’t have ability to provide any time extensions.”
However, it was unclear whether advisers who had been removed from the FAR would still be classified as “existing”.
AFA chief executive, Phil Anderson, told Money Management that he strongly encouraged advisers who wanted to continue to provide advice next year to do everything they could to pass the exam by the last exam set in November.
“The government has shown no indication of any further extension or any exemptions. So, it would be wrong for an adviser to do anything other than doing everything they can to pass the exam this year,” Anderson said.
“We don’t believe there is provision for advisers to come back and do the exam next year if they’re an existing adviser.
“If they haven’t passed the exam this year they would have to go through the new entrant pathway, which requires a completion of a FASEA-approved degree, the professional year, and will still need to complete the exam.
“We don’t want anyone thinking there might be an alternative option or a loophole as government has not shown any indication they are willing to provide any further extension.”
Money Management has reached out to FASEA for a comment.
