The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has pushed back the date for the next financial adviser exam after introducing plans to amend it, noting around two-thirds of candidates passed the most recent sitting.
On 14 December, Treasury, which is responsible for setting standards for the exam, announced plans to remove the written answer section of it in favour of more multiple choice questions and to allow candidates to sit it prior to having met the necessary qualification requirements.
As a result of the proposed amendments, ASIC stated the first exam sitting in 2024 would be pushed back from 15 February until late March.
“To allow sufficient time to implement required changes to the exam and ensure all candidates are held to the same standard, the date of the next exam has been revised and will now be held on 26 March 2024,” the regulator stated.
The other dates for exams next year – 16 May, 8 August and 7 November – are currently unchanged.
While the amendments are still in draft legislation, ASIC stated it would update the guidance on its website for financial advisers and Australian financial services licensees about the revised exam in line with the Corporations (Relevant Providers – Education and Training Standards) Amendment (2023 Measures No 1) Determination 2023.
ASIC also released the results for the 23rd adviser exam, which was held in November, with the results showing 145, or 66 per cent, of the 219 candidates passed the exam. Of the total number of people sitting the exam, 154, or 70 per cent, sat it for the first time.
The pass mark is broadly consistent with the three preceding exams conducted in 2023, where 67 per cent of candidates passed in February, 63 per cent in May and 73 per cent in August, with a total of 20,875 individual candidates having sat the exam since its inception.
Of that number, 19,310 or 92 per cent of candidates have passed.
