In a video message to the Stockbrokers Conference held in Sydney on Tuesday, Mr Jones announced that legislation will shortly be introduced to the Parliament to enact the experience pathway.
“This bill will recognise the qualification that comes with a decade of experience, while maintaining a clean record on the adviser register. There will be no sunset clause on this qualification,” the minister said.
“Mostly, this bill is providing us with time to manage the transition while we clean up the settings on education qualifications to facilitate and improve pathways for entries into the system. I’ll be doing more work on a pathway for new entrants over the second half of the year,” he explained.
“This is about taking measured pragmatic approaches that protect consumers, gives them access to qualified advice and works with industry, not against it.”
Last month, the government released the exposure draft bill to deliver its election commitment to recognise experienced financial advisers who pass the exam, have 10 years of experience, and a clean practice record.
Currently, existing financial advisers with no degree must have an approved qualification by 1 January 2026.
However, surveys of the industry have suggested that advisers are divided on the government’s proposal.
In its submission to the government’s exposure bill, the Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA) revealed that it had surveyed the draft legislation with 1,197 respondents of which 49.1 per cent said they were not in favour of the proposal as drafted.
The FAAA noted at the time that, among other things, there was significant member concern about the unlimited application of the draft legislation and the lack of a sunset clause for this measure.
Namely, the group believes the inclusion of a 10-year sunset clause would make things fairer for advisers.
In September 2022, the then Financial Planning Association and the Association of Financial Advisers proposed the experienced provider pathway should include a sunset clause to end on 1 January 2032. This would mean that any financial planner/adviser who relied on an experience pathway and wished to continue to practice post this date would need to meet the education requirements for existing advisers and undertake further study.
“We believe that this measure should be better targeted to older advisers, with the inclusion of a 10-year sunset clause,” the chief executive of the FAAA, Sarah Abood, said earlier.
“This would represent an appropriate transition for established, experienced financial advisers and planners with a clean compliance record. Otherwise, we will be in a position whereby planners currently in their thirties could continue to practice indefinitely with no further qualifications required,” she added.
Responding to Mr Jones’ announcement on Tuesday, Ms Abood told ifa that the FAAA is disappointed.
“We’re disappointed that the sunset clause suggestion has not been included,” she said.
“However, it is a positive that advisers are getting more clarity on the operation of the pathway, and we will continue to work with the minister and Treasury to help ensure implementation is smooth.”
I have been a Financial Advisor for just over 33 years. Completing a University degree is not going to make me a better adviser. As a matter of fact, I am required to train the budding young Advisers fresh from University. Once I am satisfied that the young Adviser is ready to provide advice to the company’s clients he/she is then given permission to do so.
My experience allowed me to sit for the FASEA exam and pass with very little study required. I understand the importance of our industry to be recognised in the same way that Accountants and Lawyers are recognised. However, Financial Advisors with my time in the industry should not have to complete a University degree. The ongoing education requirements with regard to CPD requirements and other available sessions, I believe, is all that is needed for an adviser with my timeframe in the industry.
Thank goodness for this, I was a little worried we might be trending towards being a profession for a bit there.
Order is restored!
The FAAA need to publically state this is a joke.
New minister, same old story. Totally ignore the industry and professional bodies and just do what they want… JOKE.
im just guna give unlicensed advice, easier, cheaper
This is a deliberate strategy from Jones. He is about to give industry funds open slather to use free financial advice, as a way to market their funds. When financial planners point the finger and say, those backpacker call-centre operators aren’t qualified, the finger will be pointed straight back at us. He and Levy have played the FAAA like fools.
How exactly? This will only allow advisers that were on the register prior to 2016 to operate without an approved degree
Currently working in a Call centre selling Tickets for a charity. I can’t wait till I join next year and work with all of you other professionals as a REAL adviser for AwareSuper selling more super funds. You’ll only lose a “little” bit of work.
The 3 Stooges ( Frydenberg, Hume & O’Dwyer ) set fire to the house and now we’ve got Daffy Duck trying to put it out.
Ten years ago if you had said, ” Let’s completely f*#k Financial Services, Financial Advisers and their clients, you could not have written a better script than the utter destruction and incompetence delivered by the Liberal Govt.
I’m totally confused now, so what goes here? If I’m 45 yrs old, been in the industry for 18 years and have a clear compliance record, what do I have to do to keep working???
What a joke. So glad I did the work and spent the money. “Professional” ? Bwahahaha
Must’ve thought, “Let’s have a consultation and ignore all the feedback.” God help us on QoAR, so disappointing and predictably poor initiative. Stop all this carve out rot, one agreed minimum standard universally applicable and self regulate. Like accountants lawyers and other professions!
And there we go; thanks to this and QAR, a third tier has just been introduced to the advice arena. How sodding ridiculous!
Yep. Yep Yep. The industry has a strong history of always moving to the lowest common denominator. And we have our so called “professional bodies” pushing for the status quo.
I just feel the FAAA is trying to be an “industry” association that is trying to appease and comment for the whole industry, rather than just positioning itself as a “Profession setter”.
The experience pathway and carve out has now come to fruition. It had to come in otherwise where will the positions for the industry funds and the extra advisers needed, come from, unless these concessions were made.
That is the government’s priority it seems.
The FAAA now needs to stop arguing the case for the industry and just argue the case for their membership professional level and be selfish. Stop trying to be the whole industry guru and be selfish.
Yes, the FAAA may lose 20% of members, but they just may pick up more, like accountants, disgruntled other association members that want to be part of a Professional body, and definitely the new graduates with this higher-level approach to professionalism and really position themselves as the Professional Body.
Otherwise, the FAAA risks morphing into any of the 12 associations where the consumer can’t tell the difference or in other words, at the lowest common denominator level.
At least salvage something from this.
So we now have created another group of “planners” who will be able to use the restricted terms of Financial Adviser and Financial Planner. What could go wrong.
Cue Hayne 2.0
You are dead right. No sunset clause? What a joke and slap in the face for the true financial planning professionals. No wonder we struggle to be a respected profession.
Allow the Banks to offer Financial Advice
sometimes you want to say so much here, but then again you think they will do what they want anyway. This is prime example of not listening and doing what he wants.
Ahhh yes all those evil 30 year olds ruining the industry for the rest of the bludgers who created the mess. How ageist. Just make it one rule for all that tables a minimum acceptable level of education in order for all to be professionals.
Could I have my money and time back Stephen ??
As an older adviser, I will benefit from the experience pathway but absolutely agree that there should be a sunset clause
What a joke. Someone can have sipped martinis on the beach for the last 6 years, but as long as they worked for the 10 years prior to that they can re-enter the industry with no qualifications.
What exactly was the point of the recent treasury consultation, and why are the submissions not showing?
The ALP are a bunch of jokers. As is the AIOFP which pushed for this debacle.
The sunset is on the industry.
Lol
well said
It’s been here for years anyway, this will only slow the decline of numbers, the problem is they have taken away all the incentives for new entrants to join, salaries havent kept pace, you cannot get bonuses, you have to declare if you have a coffee with a BDM…….plus you have the threat of Licensees and ASIC and arguably the wannabe associations who think they are of any value….where were you when it mattered, ahh that’s right, sloshing around in Canberra with perks and bonuses and huge salaries funded by hard working Advisers….?