Government extends FASEA deadline

In an effort to balance the impact the reforms to professional standards for financial advisers are having on advice, the government has announced it intends to provide additional time for existing advisers to meet new qualification and examination requirements set by FASEA.

Assistant Minister for Superannuation, Financial Services and Financial Technology Jane Hume announced that under the new requirements, advisers who were registered on the Financial Adviser Register on 1 January 2019 must:

• complete the FASEA-approved exam by 1 January 2022 (one additional year); and
• meet FASEA's qualification requirements by 1 January 2026 (two additional years).

These changes will not apply to new advisers registered after 1 January 2019.

"The extension of the exam will ensure that all advisers, including rural and regional advisers, will have two years to sit the exam, as originally intended," Ms Hume said in a statement. 

"The extension of the qualification requirements will assist working parents, including those taking parental leave during the transition period, to have sufficient time to meet the requirements, maintaining a diverse adviser industry."

Currently the exam is only available in capital cities, and will not be available in regional areas until September 2019.