The corporate regulator has confirmed that financial advisers who are considered existing providers but are not a relevant provider by 1 January, 2021, will not be considered new entrants when they decide to return to being an adviser.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has published an FAQ on timeframes for passing the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics (FASEA) exam which gave two examples that could allow this scenario if they had not attempted the exam twice and thus be permitted to use the exam extension to 30 September, 2022.
ASIC said an existing provider taking a career break by 31 December, 2021, and thus not being a relevant provider did not have to pass the exam by 1 January, 2022, to retain their ‘existing provider’ status. But when they returned from their break, they needed to pass the exam before they could be authorised as a relevant provider.
Another scenario would be an adviser moving into a different role within their organisation.
ASIC said a relevant provider who moved to another team in their organisation by 31 December, 2021, would still be considered an ‘existing provider’ but not a ‘relevant provider’ and did not need to pass the exam before 1 January, 2022.
However, when they returned to their role as an advisers they would need to pass the exam before they could be authorised as a relevant provider again.
Source: ASIC
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