Get registered or sit exam says ASIC
Financial advisers have been warned to get on the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) register as soon as possible if they want to avoid the need to sit the new exam attaching to the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) regime.
ASIC issued the warning at the same time as announcing changes to reporting dates for a number of required notifications in the transition to the new financial adviser professional standards reforms.
It said that financial advisers who were listed on the Financial Advisers Register (FAR) between 1 January 2016 and 1 January 2019 would be recognised as an ‘existing provider’ under the new professional standards and that, therefore, financial advisers who were currently authorised to provide personal advice to retail clients on more complex financial products should make sure they are on the register.
“Without recognition as an ‘existing provider’ an adviser must pass an exam and complete an approved qualification by 1 January 2019 to work as a financial adviser. They must also undertake a year of work and training,” the regulator said.
“If a person is an ‘existing provider’, they have until 1 January 2021 to pass the exam, and 1 January 2024 to complete an approved qualification. In the meantime, they can continue to work as a financial adviser.
Financial advisers can demonstrate that they are an ‘existing provider’ if they are:
- ‘current’ on the Financial Advisers Register (FAR) at any time between 1 January 2016 and 1 January 2019; and
- not banned, suspended or disqualified as at 1 January 2019.
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