Published 23 May, 2019
Prepared by Ella Cameron
Highly-anticipated details of the FASEA exam have now been released. The purpose of this exam is to assess the competency of new entrants and of existing financial advisers. It is designed to assess the skills that are necessary to provide high quality financial advice. In order to do this, the following knowledge areas will be assessed:
- Financial Advice Regulatory and Legal requirements (including Corporations Act 2001 (chapter 7), AML, Privacy and Tax Agents Services Act 2009 (TASA)).
- Financial Advice Construction – the suitability of advice aligned to different consumer groups, incorporating consumer behaviour and decision making.
- Applied ethical and professional reasoning and communication – incorporating FASEA Code of Ethics and Code of Monitoring Bodies.
To register for this exam, you must have either registered as a new entrant with FASEA or be an existing adviser who is registered on ASIC’s Financial Adviser Register. As a new entrant, you must have completed Quarter 1 and Quarter 2 of your Professional Year before registering for the exam. Registrations may be completed via the FASEA website approximately 4-6 weeks before each sitting.
When?
There will be two sittings for 2019. Registrations for the first sitting opened on the 13th of May and will close at 5pm on the 31st of May. Any registrations made after the closing date will not be accepted. First exam sittings will take place from the 20thto the 24th of June. Registrations for the second sitting open on the 12th of August and will close on the 30th of August. Sitting two occurs from the 19th of September to the 23rd of September.
What does the exam involve?
- You only need to pass this exam once, there is no ongoing annual requirement to pass the exam.
- It is 3.5 hours in length (with 15 minutes reading time).
- The exam is open book for statutory material, so you will be able to refer to relevant sections of the Corporations Act and FASEA standards during the exam.
- It is to be completed online using dedicated computers in an exam centre.
- The exam will cost $540 (+ GST) per sitting.
What happens if I fail?
If you fail the exam, you may re-sit multiple times. The exam has a credit level pass mark. There is an exam preparation guide available on the FASEA website along with practice exam questions (attached). New entrants must pass the exam before commencing Quarter 3 of their Professional Year. Existing advisers have until 1 January 2021 to pass the exam. If an existing provider has not passed the exam by this date, their licensee will need to remove their authorisation to provide advice and notify ASIC, who will update their status on the Financial Adviser Register to “ceased”. If you then wish to return to practice, you will be classified as a new entrant and will need to meet the new entrant requirements.
If you would like some additional help with preparation for the exam, KAPLAN are going to offer a new course that specifically focuses on how to succeed in the exam. This course is going to be available in the coming months and we will notify you once these details have been released.