FASEA’s CPD expectations ‘totally unreasonable’

Deakin University Professor, Adrian Raftery, has called out the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) for its “totally unreasonable” continuing professional development (CPD) requirements.

Sharing the University’s submissions to the regulatory body on social media, Raftery said it was “totally unreasonable” for FASEA to expect licensees to comply with the standards by 1 January 2019, merely 20 days after it was released to the public.

“Two years ago when the 1 January 2019 date was set, it seemed quite reasonable… its quite unreasonable now given how late the consultation paper process has been going,” he said.

Raftery said talking with others in the industry, the consensus is that there’s quite a bit of refining left to do as well, particularly in terms of the minimum CPD hour requirements, which he said were “way above” what they should be.

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 “If you’re currently an adviser that’s not affiliated with a professional body, you have a zero hour requirement each year, and the AFA [Association of Financial Advisers] and FPA [Financial Planning Association] have a benchmark of 30 hours per year.”

Raftery said the regulatory body didn’t leave much room for flexibility or a work-life balance either in terms of completing the required hours.

He said the minimum level for technical competence was understated, and the equivalent figure for ethics was “probably overstated” given the combination of bridging courses, exams and a minimum of nine hours each year on the subject.

“I’d rather someone be technically on top of their game rather than spend nine hours a year on ethical issues,” he said.

Raftery also said the University would like to see a clear pathway for FASEA going forward, and to understand their role beyond the implementation of these regulations.