The results of the first round of exams conducted by the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) will be released in about two weeks as advisers have been invited to register for the next round, which will include exam sittings in six regional locations.
FASEA stated it would release the results for the inaugural exams, which took place in June, by mid-August after the completion of a “comprehensive marking approach and analysis”.
Notification of results being released will be sent to advisers who have sat the exam, who can access the results online through a FASEA exam account.
A pass mark for the exam has been set at a university credit grade, which equates to 65 per cent to 74 per cent, according to FASEA’s website, which also said the mark will be reviewed for each exam cycle and may be adjusted to account for differences in the difficulty of the exam and to maintain a consistent standard.
The authority added it had been working with the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), which conducts the examination process, to ensure the registration process was trouble-free and exam sitting opportunities were taken up by advisers.
As part of this process, FASEA has opened registrations for the September and December exams from 30 July, which will close on 30 August for the exams taking place from 19 to 23 September, and on 8 November for the exams taking place from 5 to 9 December. Registrations for the February 2020 exam will open on 2 December.
FASEA has confirmed the exams will continue to take place in the eight metropolitan locations used for the June exam – Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Darwin, Hobart and Perth – with two sittings per day for up to five days, dependent on demand.
The list of regional locations has been expanded beyond Townsville to include the Gold Coast, Cairns, Newcastle, Wollongong, Ballarat and Bunbury and, based on demand, each location will have at least two sitting days with up to two sessions a day during the September sittings. Additional locations have been planned for the December and February sittings.
FASEA chief executive Stephen Glenfield said: “We have been working closely with ACER and industry to expand the geographical and frequency of exam opportunities so as to optimise advisers’ ability to sit the exam and help them comply with the education standard in 2021.”
A number of industry bodies have urged caution for advisers sitting the exam and encouraged them to be familiar with the open-book documents that are in use during the exam, to wait until the exam process has been tested, or to wait for FASEA to release further details around the code of ethics component of the exam.
