Financial advisers who have yet to pass the mandatory adviser exam have only one more day to register for the last sitting, with a failure to do so resulting in them being unable to provide advice from 1 October 2022.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) issued a warning highlighting that while the deadline to have passed the exam is later this year, the final registration date for the 18th and final exam is 11:59pm on 12 July.
“The July 2022 financial adviser exam is the last chance for financial advisers who are eligible for the extension until 1 October 2022 to sit and pass the exam,” ASIC stated.
“If those advisers do not pass the July sitting, they will need to stop providing personal advice to retail clients on relevant financial products from 1 October 2022.”
The corporate regulator added that any adviser who does not pass the July exam, set to take place from 28 July to 1 August, will need to have their Australian financial services licensee revoke their authorisation to provide personal advice on or before 30 September 2022 for the adviser to retain their status as an existing provider.
“Financial advisers who lose their status as an existing provider will be treated as a new financial adviser,” it said.
“New financial advisers must meet additional education requirements, including completing the professional year, before they can be reauthorised to provide personal advice.”
It added advisers who are eligible to sit the exam under the extension granted by the previous government until 1 October do not have to apply for an exam eligibility number, but can enrol directly for the exam with the Australian Council for Educational Research using their financial advisers register number.
