The government’s Treasury Laws Amendment (2019 Measures No.3) Bill 2019 amends the Corporations Act to defer the transitional time frames for the FASEA exam and tertiary education requirements.
The transitional time frame for the approved degree or equivalent qualification will be deferred by two years to 1 January 2026. The transitional time frame for the approved exam will be deferred by one year to 1 January 2022.
Assistant Minister for Superannuation, Financial Services and Financial Technology Jane Hume announced an extension of the FASEA deadlines in August last year.
With Labor’s support, the bill is expected to progress through the Parliament in the coming weeks.
FPA chief executive Dante De Gori said the extension of the FASEA deadlines would give financial planners more flexibility to complete their study.
“Bipartisan support for the FASEA extension means financial planners will have more time to balance the new education requirements and regulatory requirements at work while maintaining a healthy home life,” Mr De Gori said.
“The FPA will continue to work with key stakeholders to ensure its members can continue their professional development within a flexible time frame that respects the personal wellbeing of financial planners and their families.
“The FPA would like to thank Senator Hume for responding to our members’ request for assistance.”
Dr Simon Longstaff! Have you disclosed your conflicts of interest being on the board of FASEA and also flogging your own book as “suggested reading” as part of the FASEA exam?
The extension is a complete joke! it basically prolongs the issue! allows advisers to keep making money for Jam.
I know plenty of older advisers who will now simply pass the exam and then keep collecting fees till 2026 and then retire. It’s a bloody disgrace!
The shorter time frame would create more radical and significant change which is what the industry needs!
Unlike some of you, I’m seething about the extension. Why is the Government covering up for FASEA’s utter incompetence? If they had appropriately factored in experience (which they were supposed to do), properly recognised other degrees, diplomas, CFP etc., launched the exam when they were supposed to, released study materials early and provided a reasonable alternative route for advisers who fail the test, then this delay would not be needed. Instead, we will continue to be a laughing stock for another 6 years as the media compare our education standards to hairdressers.
Instead of bickering among ourselves, point the finger at the real culprit —–> FASEA. They had one job to do – to raise professional standards and improve our standing in the community. They have failed dismally and should be held to account.
Still no word about the sorely needed separate degree for ‘that’ totally different discipline . . . The Risk Specialist. Pathetic associations and politicians. Clueless. How about we fly that one up the flag pole a lot more Adrian Flores as the media has forgotten about this too by the look of things.
That would be possible …. but it would require Risk Advisers to go out and do a Certificate 2 at Tafe in Insurance Planning, costing about $1,500 in total and would take up an afternoons worth of work. Similar to Mortgage brokers Cert IV. They’d be rioting in the street. “I don’t need to pay $500 to do Insurance 101 to get our own regulatory system and prevent the sale of my business going from $1.3 million to $100,000 screw you, I’ve been an adviser for 50 years”. Yeah so that’s never ever going to happen is it. Riskies don’t care about self regulation, and therefore sadly a sector that has attracted over regulation & enhanced consumer protection.
All I can say is about time these dopey politicians did the right thing and agreed on something for once the useless fools.
Ex CFP is spot on.. [b]The FPA original submission to FASEA recommended only courses meeting their Financial Planning Education criteria, that being a Bachelor of Financial Planning should be the meaning of a degree.[/b][b][/b] Keep in mind Uni’s had to pay to be approved by FPEC. There submission called for prior learning worth 14 points out of 100, the DFP worth 10 points and a Bachelor of Commerce worth diddly squat. The only thing the FPA cares about are themselves, and getting bulk membership from 4 banks and AMP. The FPA siding with CBA and remaining silent during their advice scandal directly lead to FASEA in the first place. The FPA saw FASEA as a way to sell courses similar to how they sold DFP units and or get money via FPEC from institutions paying for accreditation.
Really, 6 years to pass just 8 units of a Graduate Diploma and a further 2 years to pass an exam? Pathetic. I’m already half way through mine and I started last year, plus passed my FASEA already exam plus I run two businesses (that’s true) and all the other “excuses” I’ve had five babies and I’m studying whilst suffering from Corona Virus. boo hoo hoo. The delay says more about the quality of people working in this industry than anything else. The massive “amount of change in this industry” was telegraphed in 2009 and the only advisers who have not made changes are advisers working for AMP or a product manufacturer….and we all know how that’s working out for them. I certainly wouldn’t want to lose your job as you’re unemployable until you pass. Get on with it or get out. I’m sick of being punished for your unprofessionalism and others that want to work at minimum levels.
If you knew this was coming in 2009 why didnt you do the study back then instead of waiting till last year?
I did, this is additional study to stay above the majority that like working at levels below community expectations.
Boom
Because FARCEA would just say “your degree is too old, do another one”
Awesome you are unreal, we all wish we were half as good of a planner as you must be!
You my friend are what is known as a blatant liar and full of it. Come back down to earth after you stop smoking your crack
get your hand off it. I’m sick of being punished for your stupid comments.
I hope you provide more empathy to your clients and their particular challenges and circumstances than you are showing here. Just because something is working for you does not mean it works for everyone. Many people have valid reasons for taking a while to do the study. They are still doing it. Did you perhaps think that the advisers who are time poor are actually working harder and doing a better job for all of their clients in all circumstances than you are? Many are also spending time doing pro-bono work for bushfire and cancer sufferers (amongst other causes).
6 years to do Grad Dip, wtf… that’s a weak cop out. You can’t say because you’re helping Fire/Flood victims, pro bono I need 6 years to do 8 subjects or 1 subject or 5 with exemptions knowing that one subject that can be completed over the Christmas holidays as an example. The deeper issue is why have so many advisers been caught on the hop and I’m guessing many don’t like themselves when they look in the mirror in the morning. .
Our family just welcomed our first baby and been affected by major weather event that damaged our home and business both of which has only just been repaired. We needed this extension badly to give us some time to get back on our feet, get more time go back to uni for something we have been doing for years, continue manage our business and enjoy our new baby all the while doing as much as we can to our damaged properties to save money.
shame on you [b]won’t change much[/b][b][/b]
You’re overwhelmed. Sorry to hear about your home and business, but anyone who can do what you’ve done, is more than capable of doing 8 units and passing a FASEA exam and wouldn’t need extension or 6 years to do it in. You’re under estimating your ability, and the benefits of lifting education for all Australians and participants and dramatically over estimating what’s required. I’m sure you’d look back and say “that wasn’t as hard as it was made out to be”
Shh Bob, the issue is the once off exam determining someones career in an unreasonable time frame. some regional advisers only just got the exam available online leaving 10 months to get it done within the current time frames .
If you haven’t done the test yet you effectively have two goes to get the test done and I can tell you now you would not be waiting for the second test to be completed before you started making other arrangements for employment so one shot really.
I don’t think I’ve seen planners complain its hard… waste of money yeah, a farce were advisers are blamed yet again for things out of our control from planners things come down the line from the companies, CEO’s, managers and licences yet not one of them have to go do an ethics course, no best interest for them… advisers are literally the last ones on the list and the front line and have to stay in their guide lines and the law to pass an audit.
Advisers do not create APL’s or procedures on compliance documenting the advice, all this is done by the companies Licences which we pay money to to make sure we are upholding the law and I can say they are not doing a very good job…
Why only two goes to get test done? There is no limit on the number of attempts. There is only a 3 month time limit between attempts. For the rest of 2020 that gives Apr/Aug/Dec as options. With the deadline extension there would be a further 3 or so options in 2021 depending on scheduled dates. By my reckoning that’s 6 chances for someone starting now.
Congratulations on your baby. However, these changes have been in the wind for years. I started my Masters in 2013 as the writing was on the wall back then. It should not take people 6 years to complete 8 subjects. I am disgusted that they are pushing the timeframes out.
Once the extensions were mooted I noticed that the pressure on everybody immediately eased. Whether that was a good thing, who knows.
I have been impressed by the high pass rates – my guess is that almost all advisers can, with some training in how to pass exams, get through this exam.
FASEA left devastated by high pass rate….no extra $600 to be derived from all those who passed….
agree with you, Billy
not paying $18k for a piece of paper from kaplan
but you’re happy for over regulation, being referred to as a used car saleman and ASIC telling you a “Service” is producing a RoA. Give me a break buddy. $18K is a cheap investment if it reduces over regulation. Next you’ll be winging about annual opt in, commissions being reduced, wondering why your business is being reduced and blaming everyone but yourself.
Anonymous you are a clown if you believe this will end the over regulation, being referred to as a used car saleman and ASIC telling you a “Service” is producing a RoA. Give me a break clown.
Certainly being uneducated, having no formal qualifications, no doubt being licensed & getting business coaching from a product manufacturer, believing the only entry requirements to the industry to sell insurance or whatever you flog, should be a course called “flogging MLC 101” and everything else you’ve been doing …….appears to be certainly working out well for you. Turns out you’re the clown now buddy.
Yes the extension is a good thing, but don’t for one minute think the FPA had anything to do with it. They are just jumping on the bandwagon and claiming a victory. Too little too late. They should have been in there advocating for Planners instead of shoring up their failed CFP program and worrying about their budgets. They are focused on being buddies with Government when its their members that pay their fees, and their members are leaving in droves…..Why would you do the CFP course now? What benefit is having a CFP now? You pay more and yet the Government mandated requirement is now a Degree…..so go get a degree and put that on your wall, when a client asks what you’ve got, you can say a degree……not a CFP…..
I have three degrees…clients don’t really care how much I know…only how much I care to do the right thing by them….soon I’ll have 4 degrees….do you really think this will change the perception of any of our clients….???
No it wont, I agree with you, have 4 or 5 degrees, it won’t make a difference. But unfortunately now it is mandated and that’s all everyone is talking about, they expect you to have a piece of paper on the wall and then all of a sudden you are “qualified, giving fantastic advice, ethical advice”!! Just look at our Politicians where the most common degree in “Law”, that’s right more Politicians have Law degrees than any other degree…..and yet do they have conflicts of interest, are they looking after “your best interest”? Kellie O’Dwyer (Lawyer) made the decision that all Planners must have a degree and just ran with it because she was being advised by Lawyers and University Professors who all have a vested self interest….commonly known as a conflict of interest in our world. Financial Planning has always been about relationships and client interaction, if you run a Planning business (not bank employed), your clients are your life blood, you have friends, family and colleagues, they are not just a number, they don’t care whether you have a degree or are a CFP, they want to know you are looking after them and their financial future.
I asked the grand master FPA chief executive Dante De Gori just that when the announced the deakin deal. What does a CFP actually get you ???
No surprise he didn’t offer an answer.
Well the Grand Master is earning a tidy $450k which includes a healthy bonus, he doesn’t have to provide answers, just visit Canberra once a month, have lunch with a few Bank Execs and Industry Heavyweights and roll out a media response or two. The CEO of the FPA is entitled to massive bonuses and yet the Planners he supposedly represents cannot receive bonuses for fear of conflicts of interest or not acting in clients best interest….
Personally I think 50% of other advisers leaving is the only way my business can return to profitability so as someone who has decided to stay I’m disappointed with the extension. It just means that ASIC need to find another way to destroy us and I have faith in them working out a way.
Because some smart individuals actually realise they have a problem re the Adviser exodus. This will simply slow that exodus, not stop it.
It won’t make much difference. If you are not through the exam in 2020 chances are either; a) you are not going to do it anyway and will be leaving or b) are very unlikely to pass so are putting it off. By mid this year the Industry will be divided into those that have done it and those that have not – as the fail rate climbs. So this extension just keeps a few people in those categories a) and b) in the Industry for another year.
I disagree. There is a massive amount of change hitting the industry, giving everyone a little more breathing space to complete this exam is a good thing.
It just changes the time that this train (change that you have called it) is going to hit you if you don’t get out of the way. If you haven’t done the exam yet, do you want to get run over by the express at 1 or 2 o’clock? Most people will say 2, fair enough, but that leaves less time if anything else goes wrong. You have to enrol in the exam 2 months ahead then wait 2 months for the result. That’s a 4 month lead time for just this one step.
Agree Billy. Opinions are like arseholes, everyone’s got one. Majority of planners I know that have already completed the exam are employed planners or those that have more time up their sleeves and not practice principals/planners balancing multiple knives at one time. Good to see that common sense is prevailing and the wellbeing of planners is being considered as the last two years have been very stressful for many, including myself. As a community, planners should be advocating for the best possible solution to help their fellow colleagues get through this time and not shitting on them; this is what a true profession looks like. Everyone needs to remember that the RC was into “Misconduct” and not “Overall Conduct”. FYI I am from the new school of planners and already on track to completing my requirements by the current deadlines.
Firstly, You’re assuming everyone is like you “professional, educated, prepared to invest in yourself and your job by becoming self employed”. That’s not the case for all, and over regulation, red tape, over bearing compliance regimes is clear evidence of this. If you disagree then please explain why. Secondly your self employed and you’re seeing your business plummet before your eyes and yet you’re advocating more time for others to achieve what you’ve already done. Third, I’m self employed and will likely meet FASEA criteria by the time I finished.
but would you risk striking up a relationship with an adviser who hasn’t passed the exam yet?
That would be up to the principal and prospective planner to decide on. They key here is giving people flexibility to chose what is right for them.
Do you mean as a client? Clients will never know. FASEA exam completion is not published on the public version of FAR, or in FSGs. Most clients will never have heard of it and won’t ask. The first time a client finds out their adviser hasn’t passed the FASEA exam will be in Jan 2022 when they receive notification from the adviser’s (former) licensee.
Yup, sorry. The date you were notified you passed the exam will be going on the FAR later this year! Also there is no separate version of the FAR – just the “public version”, that’s the only version. So you didn’t know either of those things and published a comment anyway? Well done.
Yes clients will come to understand, because I’m already promoting that I’m operating at higher standards. Much higher than all the lazy advisers here who to be frank can’t be arsed to do a lousy course and would rather complain about ASIC levies.
Nice one goose
Also disagree, I am about to have my first child and have had a complicated pregnancy, the breathing space will be welcome so I don’t completely burn out.
Yes, that’s certainly very reasonable in your case. Wish you well. For everyone else they are just putting off the inevitable because they are a bit frightened and possibly traumatised.
Can’t agree with you anymore! It just gives me more time to sell my business at a good price. This bloody whole FASEA thing is going to do more damage to the government’s bottom line down the track because there will be no good life insurance advisers around and fewer people get insured and more people relying on government benefits if something unfortunate happens.
I also disagree. It’s the time it takes to prepare and study that is causing the delays. I’ve sat and passed the FASEA exam but for some fitting in sufficient study to feel comfortable you will pass is difficult. I have 6 uni subject to complete now and the extension if it passes will relieve pressure on a new growing business and a family with 2 kids under school age with both parents working full time.
Nice positive comments…always good to see……. and really helps those really good people who are struggling under the significant weight of enforced change and continued attack……..well done for your contribution.
I think thats a very narrow minded view. I currently work for an IFA that is also undergoing significant office pressures as a result of change of licensee’- on top of adviser education requirements. The extra 12 months makes a lot of difference to me personally. I have been a planner for 20 years, intend to stay and the extension is welcomed.
You left out category c) you intend to sit the FARSEA exam but due to time constraints with running a business, trying to spend quality time with your family and also completing a Masters in FP you appreciate some common sense in extending the exam timeframe by 12 months.
Whilst I agree that there are some who fall into categories a) and b) – a significant % of advisers intend to get through the exam, complete their educational requirements and just get on with the business of helping their clients navigate through our increasingly complex financial system.
Strongly disagree here. I have a massive year coming up with other things in my life without needing to worry about a silly exam. Plenty more time next year which will allow me to do it then.
What a load of rubbish this comment is.
Given the FARSEA process of putting the Exam horse before the Study cart the whole process is stupid.
With a Double major degree in Economics and Business Law, Full DFP, SMSFA Specialist and Estate Planning Specialist, 20 years Advice experience and 16 years AFSL Responsible Mngr, apparently im still not educated, experienced or ethical enough.
So i would like to do the FARSEA ethics course before i do the FARSEA exam that is significantly about Ethics.
And given the very much delayed whole process i am looking at some stage this year to do the Ethics course and then will do some stage next year the exam.
With an AFSL to manage, clients to advise, a family to see & love, a life to live that i also like so social and sporting time, crap is busy, thus no rush to complete the exam.
And therefore your comment is complete rubbish.
100% agree. I think by now, 95% of advisers have already decided whether they are staying or going. Extending the deadlines aren’t going to change this. It just makes the transition more manageable.