Exam changes to kick in from March, ASIC confirms

In a statement on Wednesday, the corporate regulator said it is implementing the government’s amendments to the approved principles for the administration of the financial adviser exam that were registered on 18 January 2024.

Namely, on 14 December, the government released draft legislation under its commitment to ensure the financial adviser exam remains a pillar of the financial adviser professional standards.

The 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 Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) confirmed in its statement that the changes will be reflected in the next exam held on 26 March 2024, which was pushed back from 15 February to allow sufficient time to put the changes in practice.

“All candidates will be held to the same standard as for previous exams,” ASIC stated.

Following the December announcement, professional year (PY) candidates were largely expectant of a decrease in the cost to sit the exam if greater efficiencies are generated from computer marking.

The Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA) also joined the collective push for a reduced fee earlier this month.

“This method of assessment is also cheaper to run, and we would expect to see a reduction in the cost of the exam as a result. The cost is now $1,500 per attempt, almost three times higher than it was when the exam was first introduced in 2019,” said Sarah Abood, FAAA chief executive.

Moreover, the Stockbrokers and Investment Advisers Association recently lobbied for additional recommendations to improve the exam.

This includes allowing candidates to sit the exam at any time rather than being bound by an exam timetable, adding a broader range of scenarios in the test, and encouraging more tailored feedback to be given to unsuccessful candidates.