To date, 21,637 individual candidates have sat the exam, 20,060 (92 per cent) of which have passed, demonstrating their knowledge in advice construction, ethics and legal requirements.
The latest round saw 289 people sit the adviser exam, with 207 doing so for the first time.
Some 77 per cent (225 candidates) successfully passed, a significant jump from the 62 per cent pass mark in the August sitting, potentially providing a much needed boost for the profession’s numbers as they struggle to hold the line above 15,500 advisers, according to Wealth Data’s findings.
Notably, August had seen the lowest percentage of candidates who have passed since November 2022 when only 57 per cent passed.
In comparison, the March and June sittings in 2024 both saw 70 per cent of candidates pass the exam.
This turnaround in pass rates is of particular note as it is also the most successful round since the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) made changes to the exam earlier this year, removing short answer questions, leaving only multiple choice questions.
Preceded by a brief Treasury consultation on draft legislation at the end of 2023 during which ASIC confirmed it would be implementing the changes in January, it was hoped that the removal of short answer questions would enable computer marking, improving efficiency and reducing the cost to administer the exam, while also allowing candidates to receive their results faster.
ASIC noted unsuccessful candidates in the November sitting will receive general feedback from the Australian Council for Educational Research on the areas where they underperformed, as it has done so for previous cycles.
| November 2024 | 77% |
| August 2024 | 62% |
| June 2024 | 70% |
| March2024 | 70% |
| November 2023 | 66% |
| August 2023 | 73% |
| May 2023 | 63% |
| February 2023 | 67% |
| November 2022 | 57% |
| August/July 2022 | 52% |
| February 2022 | 32.4% |
The next exam is slated for 6 March 2025, followed by 5 June, 7 August, and 6 November.
Political candidates of all stripes should be made to sit such as an exam. They would have to pass in order to qualify as candidates, let alone sit in parliament. Oh, and they have to pay the cost themselves, not get lobbyists and vested interests to pay it on their behalf.
This has been the biggest waste of resources in the history of financial planning.
It is a complete insult to the industry that the cost of the exam has increased to $1,500 eachsitting (from ~$560) yet is all MCQ and therefore answers and results in theory are known instantly via a computer.
I hope the exam is removed in time as majority of candidates sitting have already completed university studies, ethics courses and are likely already in the industry trying to push through becoming a financial adviser.
Sat the exam this time round and passed. Would suggest a good 1/3 of the exam questions were highly subjective and you couldn’t even study for the correct answers, no matter how hard you studied. Very critical of the exam and its current format. Has served its purpose for culling underqualified advisers in the industry.
Yeah, so how much has the cost of the exam come down? It’s $1,500 to sit a multiple choice exam that is conducted remotely and marked by machines.