Just over half of the candidates who sat the most recent adviser exam have passed, according to figures released by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), with three-quarters of those sitting the exam doing so for at least the second time.
ASIC stated 628 advisers sat the July and August exam, which was the last available to existing advisers under an extension introduced by the previous government, of which 328 (52 per cent) passed, and of the total number sitting the exam, 76 per cent had sat the exam at least once before.
The exam was the 18th conducted by the Australian Council for Educational Research since its introduction under the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority in June 2019, and the third conducted under the extension, resulting in 20,148 candidates sitting the exam, of which 92 per cent have passed.
ASIC added, of those who have passed the mandatory exam, more than 15,800 are recorded as current financial advisers on the ASIC Financial Adviser Register (FAR), representing 95 per cent of current advisers on the FAR. A further 2500 were ceased advisers on the FAR and may be reauthorised in the future and 700 were new to the industry.
While another exam sitting will take place on 3 November for new advisers, the corporate regulator noted this exam was the last for existing advisers operating under the nine-month exam extension to pass the exam and that if they had not done so, they could not provide advice from 1 October.
In a separate news release, ASIC noted advisers who were eligible for the exam extension but had not passed the exam must take specific action by 30 September with their Australian financial service licensee to reduce the impact of not having passed the exam.
“If your licensee ceases your authorisation on or before 30 September 2022, you will still need to pass the exam before you can become reauthorised and recommence providing personal advice. However, you will not need to complete a professional year and you will have until 1 January 2026 to obtain an approved degree,” it stated.
“If your licensee does not cease your authorisation on or before 30 September 2022, it will cease by operation of the law and you will no longer be able to provide personal advice.
“To become reauthorised and recommence providing personal advice you will need to complete a professional year and obtain an approved degree in addition to passing the exam.”
