The bill was debated in the Senate this morning and an amendment proposed by Senator Rex Patrick of the Centre Alliance was accepted by the opposition and cross benchers, meaning the bill will need to go back to the lower house.
As the government does not support Senator Patrick’s amendment, and they have a majority in the House of Representatives, this could spell further delays for the bill.
AFA chief executive Phil Kewin told ifa the amendment, which relates to bringing grandfathered large proprietary companies into ASIC’s reporting scheme, was a consequence of the extension being folded into a larger bill of miscellaneous amendments.
“This is the challenge with the omnibus bill – it contains a number of different components and the FASEA extension is just one of them,” he said.
Mr Kewin said the AFA was encouraging all sides of politics to “come up with a solution” to get the extension to the FASEA deadline through parliament.
“I respect the right of Rex Patrick to make amendments, but our focus is on getting these extensions through so advisers can continue to look after their businesses and their clients and plan accordingly,” he said.
“We would encourage whatever needs to be done to pass the bill from all sides so that advisers can get the certainty they deserve.”
During the debate around the amendment, Senator Patrick said he had been “bombarded” with calls from advisers asking him to pass the bill, but that in his view the fault ultimately lay with the government that the extension would not be able to be passed in the June sitting of Parliament.
“I want to make sure advisers understand that this bill is being supported by the Senate, but it has an amendment to correct an anomaly that creates a privileged class of companies here in Australia which is no longer acceptable to Australians,” Mr Patrick said.
“If it sits in the House of Representatives, I advise what I’ve indicated privately to other senators…if you want to stop all the bills passing through the house for the purposes of protecting your mates, that’s how this is going to play out.”
It takes about 30 hours of study to pass the FASEA exam I am 74 years of age and passed it last September sitting. I am Not computer literate like the modern planners answered most questions from memory. If you follow the instructions an spend about 2.00 hours a night all of you should be able to do it.
I would like to Align that pollie Rex in the Centre of a dartboard ?
Bullseye!
$1,100 a year for FPA membership. Just how has that representation been working for you? That’s a lot of money year after year after year for ZIP or some initials that ASIC uses to reference Commonwealth Financial Planning. You’ve got an industry body that takes payments from the big end of town, and can’t even negotiate an extension of an exam during a National Pandemic.
You’re looking pretty much like a complete joke as an industry. Paying money to a body that dosen’t know whether it represents planners or a large licensee (and still after a Royal Commission) certainly aint working is it? Surely after a RC you guys would have tried to walk away from that stance and cut ties. Probably time is it not you take a moral highground and make some decisions.
FPA fee for no service
Whilst the exam can be done now I wouldn’t like to be doing it. I passed Decembers round and just sat Ethics exam via Procter system and it was awful. You can’t even leave to go to the toilet. The system didn’t work even though it was tested and I started 1.5hrs later than I should have. From this aspect I think advisers should be given more time as yes I too have a business to run and a young family.
Dad and I did the exam yesterday and while my proctor thing went okay in that they only had to take control of my pc four times because the Skype kept dropping out but dad had to start over two hours late because his proctor crashed and it took them that long to sort it out. Stress all round!!!
Can we stop with the negative comments every time this issue comes up?? Maybe some people have a hard time that you or I might not understand as to why they are struggling with getting the exam done.
I get it, some of you absolutely most intelligent, brilliant, best of the best advisers have already passed it. I’m going to be OK too, but it’s not suddenly a pedestal to stand on to point downwards! This has been a rough few years for most of us – let’s be a bit nicer to each other!
Good thing the 4 code of football started this week – political football.
I for one am sick of our industry being kicked around at the whim of political parties. They (the pollies/lobbyists/self interest groups) simply forget that there actually are individuals at the end of the game here (or even worse they don’t care).
To sit the exam or not… I think its pretty clear that advisers have NO FRIENDS in parliament and we perhaps should stop thinking that we will get help.
Brilliantly put.
Some of the comments are ridiculous… may as well blame it on the 5G rollout. Just take responsibility for your own future and get it done. If you spent as much time on the suggested readings as you do in chat rooms you’d have passed the exam and be on your 5th masters subject by now.
If you spent less time reading redundant lists, and lecturing others, and more time guiding your clients through these markets, I wouldnt be taking so many clients off you.
When you fail your exam because you left it too late, I reckon JustDoit will pick up a few clients. I’m sure clients are already asking you the question.
Clients asking him the question about whether he’s passed an exam put together by a bunch of academics who have no real world experience. You seriously think clients care if we’ve passed the FASEA exam?
really as i have yet to hear a client ask any of the advisers in our office once if they have done or passed the FASEA exam??
Bit late now – If you haven’t booked into the June exam you only get one shot at it before 2021.
Yep and so many do not understand that
will more lives be lost?
No one is talking about this…and that is the real travesty!
Just get on with doing the exam……. its inevitable
I don’t have an issue if the extension is granted or not but my fellow advisers, you have had plenty of time to pass this exam and you knew the relevant date for which to achieve a pass mark. We all are busy, a lot of us have families and we all have to juggle study amongst our other commitments. I have passed, it wasn’t easy on any level but just get in there and give it a go, please don’t wait any longer
I understand where you are coming from. Up until COVID-19 hit and the extreme increase in workload (as an Accountant & Financial Planner) I was all prepared for the subject & FASEA exam. However, given extenuating circumstances (currently 7 months pregnant & have a 17 month old), trying to work, maintain CPD hrs for all qualifications & functioning on minimal sleep. This FASEA exam (which I will attempt next week) is causing much unnecessary stress. Let’s not discuss EOFY or tax time approaching. For the Senate to delay this is cruel. I believe they need to factor in some common sense.
Good luck. I too am sitting the exam next week. Had a gutful of being bombarded by emails from the proctoring mob in the States. Do this and do that. Check this and check that. U have to do this and have to do that. F off, I’m busy studying.
If you don’t have the intestinal fortitude to actually provide your name then don’t bother making comments. I take any comments from anonymous as superficial to anything published by IFA.
FASEA talks about Best Interest Duty and Conflicts of Interest. These standards should be introduce to politics so they can’t offset one issue with another
The FASEA timeframe was set 2 years ago. Anyone holding out and hoping for an extension should not be in the industry. I hope the extension gets voted down
Wow.
Your compassion is overwhelming.
you idiot
Muppet! I have done the exam (via remote proctoring, which did not run well), but certainly understand that others that have not sat may have a valid reason for doing so. Advisers that wont or cant do it will be turfed out anyway, so what does it matter to you, me or joe blogs if the extension gets passed or not. 1 January 2021 does not make us automatically all a profession or professionals and given the derogatory commentary by some on these forums, I would say that those making those comments are less professional than those they chose to degrade. Use your brain and consider that there are sometimes reasons why people have not sat yet, other than trying to compare to your situation.
Ben, best response i have seen on here in a long time. You raise a great point, do people honestly think that come Jan 2021 that the politicians and the public ( that even know or care about this ) are all of a sudden going to go
Ohhhhhhhhhhhh its all good and all ok, lay off the financial planners now as they are a profession because they passed the FASEA exam ??????
So many are missing the big picture, the lack of fight from the industry associations and the advisers has now set a precedent to the government and powers that be. You can push advisers anyway you want and they will roll over and take it like a you know what.
Don’t worry Advisers of Australia. The pollies will realise the errors of their ways come 1 Jan 2021 when only 50% of Advisers have done the FASEA exam whilst the other 50% are de-registered by ASIC and thus relinquishing all liability and responsibility for the financial affairs thousands upon thousands of Australians.
Industry funds are behind this influencing Labor to not pass it. – in their interests for Financial Planners to disappear
just do the FASEA exam & start studying – sooner start = sooner finish – better use of energy – just do it
Amen to this! The amount of whingeing rather than just getting in and getting it done shows it really is time that these types of Adviser’s do exit the industry. There has been ample notice, your business is important, your livelihood is important – then this should be priority 1.
to late for most now
and the Amendment was……???
That would require actual journalism
Repeal of the grandfathered exemption of Financial reporting obligations for large proprietary companies
What a joke
Meanwhile our lives businesses clients our mental health our future remain in the balance. How can anything progress in a country where people are largely ignored even if issues are unrelated as this is in a bill crucial to an industry. We have bufoons for leadership. God help this country.
Surely you can just do the exam and take responsibility for your own future?
youve know about it for 2 years. give me a break
I wish they didn’t use us for a political football to this extent.