The Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) has today released draft guidance around continuing professional development (CPD) for providers, as well as the proposed process for those with educational qualifications obtained outside Australia.
The consultation paper on CPD stipulates an individual relevant provider must complete at least 50 hours of CPD activity in each CPD year, 70 per cent of which must be approved by their licensee.
It also said the relevant provider may develop and maintain a professional development plan on an ongoing basis that identifies areas for improvement in knowledge, competence and skills and the professional development proposals for making those improvements.
Individuals must maintain records of their CPD activities that are required to meet this standard, and keep those records for six years from the end of each CPD year.
The individual must provide those records to the licensee for them to meet their compliance with the CPD year requirements.
For advisers who have obtained their qualifications overseas, FASEA stipulates new and existing advisers will need to attain an assessment from the Australian Education International – National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition (AEI-NOOSR), which will compare their foreign qualification to an Australian qualification using the Australian Qualifications Framework.
Existing advisers with NOOSR-approved degrees will need to apply to FASEA for additional assessment of whether the degree is a relevant qualification.
“If their degree is deemed related by the standards authority, the existing adviser will be required to meet the related-degree pathway. If their degree is deemed unrelated, then the existing adviser will be required to undertake the unrelated-degree pathway,” FASEA said.
New advisers with NOOSR-approved degrees will be required to complete an approved postgraduate course in order to meet the new standards.
FASEA will maintain a database of relevant foreign degrees to give applicants guidance on whether their foreign qualification will likely be considered related.
Submissions for both pieces of proposed guidance will close on 31 August.
