FASEA finalises adviser CPD standard

Under the standard, advisers are required to complete 40 hours of CPD each year, of which 70 per cent will need to be approved by the licensee (including a maximum four hours of professional reading), FASEA said in a statement.

According to the standard, the minimum hours per CPD category are technical (five hours), client care and practice (five hours), regulatory compliance and consumer protection (five hours) and professionalism and ethics (nine hours).

The balance of 16 hours will consist of qualifying CPD and is available to allocate to areas of advisers’ greatest need which may include, for example, technical competence or industry specialisation.

FASEA said the legislative instrument was informed through consultation with stakeholders in July and August and through 24 formal submissions during FASEA’s consultation process in November.

Further, it cited stakeholder feedback during the consultation periods that has been adopted in the final legislative instrument, including:

• a transition period to 31 March 2019 for documentation of CPD policies and plans;
• an increase in the number of formal study hours that may count towards CPD from 25 to 30 hours;
• part-timers with licensees prior written consent being entitled to a 10 per cent reduction to 36 hours required CPD while still being required to cover minimum knowledge areas;
• recognition that CPD may cover more than one knowledge area and may count across multiple CPD areas as long as there is no double counting of hours; and
• licensees being able to maintain CPD records on behalf of their advisers.

Adrian Flores

Adrian Flores is a deputy editor at Momentum Media, focusing mainly on banking, wealth management and financial services. He has also written for Public Accountant, Accountants Daily and The CEO Magazine.

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You can contact him on [email protected].