ASIC hints at further delays to financial adviser registration requirement

In November last year, the Albanese government announced a delay to the financial adviser registration requirement until 1 July 2023.

A central registration requirement for financial advisers was originally introduced in The Financial Sector Reform (Hayne Royal Commission Response - Better Advice) Act 2021 and was due to come into force from 1 January 2023.

Registration was proposed to occur in two stages, beginning with a one‑off registration process administered by ASIC using the Financial Advisers Register (FAR).

The second stage was then set to commence once the FAR transitioned to the Australian Tax Office as part of the Australian Business Registry Service.

However, speaking at FAAA roadshow event in Sydney on Monday, Leah Sciacca, a senior executive leader for financial advisers at ASIC, hinted at uncertainty regarding the launch date.

“There are currently some amendments to the better advice act before parliament that relate to financial adviser registration and this may impact the timing of ASIC launching its registration system,” Ms Sciacca said.

“In addition to ensuring our IT infrastructure is ready, we’ve prepared guidance for industry about the registration requirements, including how to register a relevant provider, what happens when a registration ceases, and the declarations that will be required to be made by licensees as part of the registration process.”

Ms Sciacca revealed ASIC would continue to monitor the amendments before parliament and assist the industry in understanding its obligations in relation to registration.

Back in November, in announcing the initial delay, Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones said: “ASIC has been engaging closely with industry about how best to implement stage one, with a view to ensuring the obligation on licensees to register financial advisers operates as efficiently as possible.”

“Through this engagement, ASIC has identified ways to improve the operation of the stage one registration process with benefits for licensees.”

Mr Jones assessed at the time that delaying the requirement would allow the improvements to be implemented and added that the registration obligation in stage one will remain with licensees.

Ms Sciacca also provided an update on the operations of the Financial Services and Credit Panel (FSCP), which was established under the Better Advice Bill as the single disciplinary body for financial advisers.

She explained that a summary of the decisions made by the FSCP will be published on the FSCP Outcomes Register, and occasionally accompanied by a media release. However, Ms Sciacca confirmed that neither the register nor the press release would typically disclose the name of the financial adviser involved in a particular matter unless the outcome is required to be displayed on the Financial Advisers Register.