November adviser exam results revealed

The corporate regulator confirmed on Thursday that of the 219 candidates that sat the November exam, 66 per cent or 145 people passed.

ASIC also disclosed that 70 per cent of candidates from this cycle sat the exam for the first time.

To date, 20,875 individuals have sat the exam, with over 19,310 (92 per cent) of those having passed.

The exam continues to be conducted by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), and according to ASIC, follows a rigorous process to ensure all candidates in each cycle are tested to the same standards.

Enrolment for the next exam cycle opens in January 2024, to be held on Thursday, 15 February.

Also on Thursday, the government released draft legislation under its commitment to ensure the financial adviser exam remains a pillar of the financial adviser professional standards.

The draft legislation includes amendments that will:

• Remove the short answer questions from the exam and increase the number of multiple-choice questions.
• Remove the requirement that only provisional relevant providers and existing advisers can sit the exam.

The government has invited interested parties to submit their views up until 10 January.

However, the Advisers Association (TAA) last month called for an end to the financial adviser exam, saying it has “served its purpose”.

According to TAA chief executive Neil Macdonald, the government should consider removing the obligation for advisers to sit the exam to help streamline financial adviser education standards, adding that the exam is fast approaching its use-by date.

“The real purpose of the exam, which financial advisers first sat in 2019, was to establish a level of professional competence in the overall population of Australian financial advisers at the time, many of whom did not hold the new FASEA-recognised tertiary qualifications,” Mr Macdonald said.

With anyone intending to join the profession now being required to complete tertiary qualifications at AQF7 level or above, Mr Macdonald said their knowledge is already thoroughly tested along the way.

“Hence the exam should become redundant,” he added.

“In essence, there will be no advisers whose competency needs further testing. The exam therefore becomes an unnecessary additional expense for those wanting to enter the profession, who have already heavily invested in their education.”