Adviser registration deadline passes with few unregistered

As of today, 16 February, all advisers must be registered on the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) register to maintain their ability to provide financial advice.

The corporate regulator declined to share figures, but ifa understands that fewer than 100 advisers remain unregistered.

ASIC said in an update earlier this month that if advisers are not recorded as “registered”, they will need to cease providing personal advice from midnight 15 February 2024, until such time as they are registered and noted as such on the Financial Advisers Register. This includes all personal advice as well as ongoing advice services.

Last month, ASIC commissioner Alan Kirkland extended the deadline on the obligation for licensees to register their advisers with ASIC by two weeks, following concerns that the previous 1 February deadline coincided with an inconvenient period.

However, speaking to ifa recently, the chief executive officer of the Financial Services Council (FSC) said that ASIC plans to carry out a compliance crackdown in the self-licensing arena if registration numbers are low.

Blake Briggs explained that through the extension and the appearance of doing the “right thing”, the regulator has effectively communicated its interest in assessing the compliance standards of small advice businesses.

“I would encourage the entire advice industry, but the smaller advice licensees in particular to not give ASIC reason to be concerned,” Mr Briggs said.

“Get on, register in the time available, do everything you can to demonstrate to ASIC that the industry is now compliant and plays by the rules.”

The new registration obligation, initially introduced in the Financial Sector Reform (Hayne Royal Commission Response – Better Advice) Act 2021, has faced challenges from the outset due to parliamentary delays and the regulator’s technology issues.

While the deadline has now been pushed back several times, speaking to ifa recently, Mr Kirkland confirmed that there would be no further extensions.

He also noted that there are consequences for both the adviser and their licensee if they’re not registered by 16 February and they continue to provide advice.