FAQs: Relevant providers – Accessing the experienced provider pathway
This is Information Sheet 281(INFO 281). It provides guidance for relevant providers seeking to access the experienced provider pathway, including on the declaration they are required to make. It also provides guidance to Australian financial services (AFS) licensees on the requirement to notify ASIC when they receive a declaration from an experienced provider they authorise.
Since 1 January 2019, professional standards have applied to relevant providers. This includes, but is not limited to:
the qualifications standard as set out in section 921B(2) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Corporations Act), which requires the completion of a degree or an equivalent qualification approved by the Minister, and
the professional year standard as set out in section 921B(4) of the Corporations Act.
On 21 September 2023, the Treasury Laws Amendment (2023 Measures No. 3) Act 2023 (2023 Measures No. 3 Act) introduced the experienced provider pathway as an alternative way to satisfy the qualifications standard and the professional year standard. Generally, a relevant provider who meets the criteria for an ‘experienced provider’ can rely on the experienced provider pathway to meet the qualifications standard and the professional year standard without needing to undertake further education and training.
The frequently asked questions (FAQs) in this information sheet cover:
who can access the experienced provider pathway (see Questions 1–2)
how to access the experienced provider pathway (see Question 3)
the process for making declarations (see Questions 4–6)
notifications by AFS licensees to ASIC about declarations (see Questions 7–8), and
how AFS licensees can verify that a relevant provider is eligible to access the experienced provider pathway (see Question 9).
Note: For the definition of ‘experienced provider’ and other terms used in this information sheet, see ‘Definitions’.
Definitions
An ‘experienced provider’ is a person who:
was a relevant provider for at least 10 years (that is, 3,650 days – whether consecutive or not) during the period 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2021, and
had a clean disciplinary record as at 31 December 2021.
For these purposes, a ‘clean disciplinary record’ means that a person must not have:
been banned or disqualified under Division 8 of Part 7.6 of the Corporations Act as in force at that time, or
given an enforceable undertaking under section 93AA or section 171E of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 as in force at that time.
‘Exam cut-off day’ means:
1 January 2022, or
1 October 2022 for existing providers who qualified for the exam extension by sitting the exam at least twice before 1 January 2022.
An ‘existing provider’ is a person who:
was a relevant provider at any time between 1 January 2016 and 1 January 2019, and
on 1 January 2019, was not banned, disqualified or subject to a court enforceable undertaking which prevents them from providing personal advice or a financial service.
‘Personal advice’, when referred to in the context of a relevant provider, means personal advice provided to retail clients on relevant financial products.
‘Relevant financial products’ means financial products, other than basic banking products, general insurance products, consumer credit insurance products or a combination of any of those products.
A ‘relevant provider’ is an individual who is:
either:
an AFS licensee, or
an authorised representative, employee or director of an AFS licensee (or an employee or director of an AFS licensee’s related body corporate), and
authorised to provide personal advice to retail clients on relevant financial products.
Note: Relevant providers are sometimes referred to as ‘financial advisers’ within industry.
A ‘self-licensed relevant provider’ is a relevant provider who holds an AFS licence in their personal capacity, rather than through a corporate structure.
Generally, you can rely on the experienced provider pathway as an alternative to completing a degree or an equivalent qualification approved by the Minister if you meet the definition of ‘experienced provider’. That is, you:
were a relevant provider for at least 10 years (that is, 3,650 days – whether consecutive or not) during the period 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2021, and
had a clean disciplinary record as at 31 December 2021.
Note: Any time spent authorised to provide personal advice to retail clients in a foreign country does not count towards the 10 years’ experience requirement given that you are required to have been a relevant provider for 10 years: see the definition of ‘relevant provider’ under Definitions).
Existing providers
If you are an existing provider who was authorised to provide personal advice on the exam cut-off day that applies to you, you must have passed the financial adviser exam by your exam cut-off day to rely on the experienced provider pathway.
An existing provider who did not pass the financial adviser exam by their exam cut-off day and remained authorised to provide personal advice on their exam cut-off day cannot rely on the experienced provider pathway, even if they have subsequently passed the exam. This is consistent with how the education and training standards apply to these existing providers who have lost the benefit of being able to take advantage of the transitional arrangements that would otherwise apply to existing providers.
However, an existing provider who did not pass the exam by their exam cut-off day, but was not authorised on their exam cut-off day (because for example, they were on a career break), may access the experienced provider pathway once they have passed the exam if they meet the definition of ‘experienced provider’.
The following checklist explains when you are eligible to rely on the experienced provider pathway. ASIC does not have the power to provide an exemption from any of the criteria for accessing the experienced provider pathway or to modify how the eligibility criteria apply.
Experienced provider pathway checklist
✔
You were authorised to provide personal advice on the exam cut-off day that applied to you and passed the exam before that cut-off day. OR Your authorisation to provide personal advice was ceased before your exam cut-off day and you passed the financial adviser exam before being re-authorised to provide personal advice.
✔
You have at least 10 years (i.e. 3,650 days) of cumulative experience as a relevant provider between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2021.
✔
You had a clean disciplinary record as at 31 December 2021.
If you meet the above criteria, you are eligible to access the experienced provider pathway. See Question 3 for next steps.
Note: If you were authorised to provide personal advice on your exam cut-off day and had not passed the exam by your exam cut-off day, you cannot access the experienced provider pathway and must pass the exam, complete an approved qualification and complete the professional year in order to be eligible to be re-authorised to provide personal advice.
The period of authorisation does not need to be consecutive. If you had breaks in your periods of authorisation between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2021, you should calculate whether you meet the 3,650 day requirement with reference to when your authorisation ceased and recommenced.
Example 1: Person returning to industry after a career break
Michael was authorised to provide personal advice from 1 July 2007 to 1 July 2015. Michael then pursued a different career, before returning to the industry and being authorised to provide personal advice from 1 January 2018 to 30 December 2021. During this time, Michael sat the financial adviser exam once. However, he failed the exam.
On 1 December, 2023, Michael decides that he wants to return to working as a relevant provider. Michael assesses that he meets the 10 years’ experience requirement having been authorised for over 10 years during the 15-year period between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2021.
Since Michael’s authorisation to provide personal advice ceased before his exam cut-off day (i.e. 1 January 2022) and, as at 31 December 2021, he had never been banned or disqualified from working as a relevant provider or given an enforceable undertaking to ASIC, Michael is eligible to access the experienced provider pathway once he passes the financial adviser exam and makes a written declaration.
After Michael has passed the exam, his new AFS licensee appoints him to the financial advisers register and registers him. He has until 31 December 2025 to make a written declaration and must give a copy of the declaration to his authorising AFS licensee as soon as is practicable after making the declaration.
Generally, if you worked part time between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2021, you will have been authorised, even on days where you did not usually work.
Example 2: Relevant provider who works part time
Sarah has been authorised to provide personal advice since 1 July 2010 without interruption and passed the financial adviser exam in August 2020 before her exam cut-off day.
Sarah has worked part time (3 days a week) during this period (that is, since 1 July 2010). Sarah assesses that she meets the 10 years’ experience requirement having been authorised for over 10 years during the 15-year period between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2021. Even though Sarah worked part time during the qualifying period, she meets the 10 years’ experience requirement because she was authorised even on days that she did not work.
As at 31 December 2021, Sarah had never been banned or disqualified from working as a relevant provider or given an enforceable undertaking to ASIC. Sarah is eligible to access the experienced provider pathway and makes a written declaration that she meets the criteria to be an experienced provider. She emails a copy of her declaration to her authorising AFS licensee.
To access the experienced provider pathway, you must make a written declaration confirming that you satisfy the definition of experienced provider: see section 1684AA(1) of the Corporations Act. You should consider whether you meet the definition of ‘experienced provider’ before making a written declaration: see Question 1 and the definition of ‘experienced provider’ in section 1684 of the Corporations Act.
Note: As explained in Question 1, existing providers who did not pass the financial adviser exam by their exam cut-off day, but were authorised to provide personal advice on their exam cut-off day, cannot rely on the experienced provider pathway.
A person who makes a written declaration is responsible for ensuring their written declaration does not contain false or misleading information. Criminal and/or civil penalties may apply if false or misleading information is given by the person when making the declaration.
A declaration must:
include a confirmation that the person meets the definition of ‘experienced provider’ in section 1684 of the Corporations Act (see Question 1), and
be made in writing.
Apart from these requirements, no form has been prescribed by legislation.
An example of a declaration could be a document or an email containing the following words:
‘I, [Person’s full legal name], confirm on this day [Date of making declaration], that I meet the definition of experienced provider in section 1684 of the Corporations Act 2001’.
Note: This is an example only. The form of a written declaration is a matter for the experienced provider and their authorising AFS licensee(s) to determine.
Declarations have been able to be made since 21 September 2023, being the day after the 2023 Measures No. 3 Act received Royal Assent.
There is no deadline by which a person must make a declaration to access the experienced provider pathway.
However, an existing provider who has passed the financial adviser exam by their exam cut-off day is required to meet the qualifications standard by 1 January 2026 in order to continue to provide personal advice from that date. Therefore, an existing provider who intends to continue to provide personal advice from 1 January 2026 and who does not otherwise meet the qualifications standard on 1 January 2026 except through the experienced provider pathway will need to make a declaration before 1 January 2026 to continue to be authorised and registered to provide personal advice. An existing provider relying on the experienced provider pathway will meet the qualifications standard by 1 January 2026 provided they make a declaration before that day. This is the case even where the declaration is made immediately before 1 January 2026, and the existing provider does not have the opportunity to provide a copy of the declaration to their authorising AFS licensee until after 1 January 2026. However, the declaration must be provided to their authorising AFS licensee as soon as practicable (see Question 6).
If an existing provider in this situation fails to make their declaration before 1 January 2026, they will be taken to not meet the qualifications standard and will lose their relevant provider status from 1 January 2026. This means they will no longer be able to provide personal advice. To be eligible to be re-authorised and registered to provide personal advice, the existing provider will need to make a declaration confirming that they satisfy the definition of ‘experienced provider’ (see Question 3). Criminal and/or civil penalties apply if a person provides personal advice while unauthorised and/or not registered.
An existing provider who has passed the exam by their exam cut-off day and whose authorisation ceased on or before 31 December 2025 is not required to meet the qualifications standard by 1 January 2026. However, they are required to meet the qualifications standard before they can be re-authorised to provide personal advice. If the existing provider only meets the qualifications standard through the experienced provider pathway, they will need to make a declaration to access the pathway before they can be re-authorised and registered to provide personal advice.
If an experienced provider is authorised to provide personal advice on behalf of an AFS licensee, they must provide a copy of their declaration to their authorising AFS licensee as soon as practicable after the declaration is made.
How the experienced provider gives their declaration to their authorising AFS licensee(s) is a matter for the experienced provider and the AFS licensee(s) to determine. There is no prescribed method for how a declaration must be given to an AFS licensee.
If the experienced provider is not authorised by an AFS licensee when they make their declaration, and later seeks to be authorised to provide personal advice, they must give a copy of their declaration to their new authorising AFS licensee as soon as practicable.
If the experienced provider is authorised by multiple AFS licensees, or moves to another AFS licensee, they must give a copy of their declaration to each authorising AFS licensee. We suggest that an experienced provider retain a copy of their declaration for these purposes. A new declaration may be required where, for example, an experienced provider’s new authorising licensee requires declarations by the relevant providers they authorise to be in a particular form.
From 1 July 2024, AFS licensees are required to notify ASIC that they have received a copy of a written declaration by lodging a notice, if the relevant provider from whom they have received the declaration is eligible to access the experienced provider pathway. For information on how AFS licensees can verify that a relevant provider is eligible to access the experienced provider pathway, see Question 9.
From 1 July 2024, notices can be lodged with ASIC through the appoint (add) and maintain (update) functions on ASIC Connect. AFS licensees can notify ASIC that a declaration has been received for up to 25 experienced providers in each ASIC Connect transaction.
If the experienced provider is authorised by more than one AFS licensee, each authorising licensee who has received a copy of a written declaration from the experienced provider must lodge a notice with ASIC.
Self-licensed relevant providers
If a relevant provider is self-licensed, they must notify ASIC when they make a declaration, provided they meet the criteria to rely on the experienced provider pathway: see Question 1.
Table 1.1 and Table 1.2 set out the timeframes within which AFS licensees are required to notify ASIC of a declaration. Criminal and/or civil penalties may apply for failure to notify ASIC of a declaration within the required timeframes.
Table 1.1: Timeframe for authorising AFS licensees to notify ASIC of a declaration
When the declaration is given
Timeframe for notifying ASIC
Declaration is given to authorising AFS licensee before 1 July 2024, and the experienced provider is still authorised by that licensee on 1 July 2024
Within 30 business days after 1 July 2024
Declaration is given to authorising AFS licensee on or after 1 July 2024
Within 30 business days after the day the declaration is given to authorising AFS licensee
Table 1.2: Timeframe for self-licensed relevant providers to notify ASIC of a declaration
When the declaration is made
Timeframe for notifying ASIC
Declaration is made before 1 July 2024
Within 30 business days after 1 July 2024
Declaration is made on or after 1 July 2024
Within 30 business days after the day the declaration is made
AFS licensees can satisfy for themselves that a person who has given them a copy of a written declaration is eligible to access the experienced provider pathway by performing checks: see Table 2.
It is best practice for AFS licensees to verify the eligibility of a relevant provider to access the experienced provider pathway, even where the relevant provider has given a copy of their declaration to a previous authorising licensee.
However, it is not necessary for AFS licensees to verify that a relevant provider is eligible to access the experienced provider pathway if they have already done so as part of authorising and registering the relevant provider to provide personal advice: see Questions 5 and 7 of Information Sheet 277 Registration of relevant providers: Guidance on making declarations (INFO 277).
Table 2: How to verify that a person is eligible to access the experienced provider pathway
Requirement
How to verify
The person was a relevant provider for at least 3,650 cumulative days during the period 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2021.
AFS licensees may wish to check the financial advisers register or, for authorisations relating to non-employee representatives that pre-date the establishment of this register, the authorised representatives professional register. AFS licensees may wish to seek appropriate documentation from the person and/or their previous employer(s) evidencing their previous authorisation(s) as a relevant provider as an alternative or in addition to checking these registers.
As at 31 December 2021, the relevant provider has never been banned or disqualified by ASIC, or given a court enforceable undertaking to ASIC.
passed the exam by the exam cut-off day that applies to them, or
if they did not pass the exam by their exam cut-off day – had their authorisation to provide personal advice ceased before their exam cut-off day and passed the exam before being re-authorised to provide personal advice.
See the definition of ‘exam cut-off day’ under Definitions. AFS licensees may wish to check the financial advisers register to see whether the relevant provider’s authorisation to provide personal advice was ceased before their exam cut-off day.
Example 3: Verifying eligibility to rely on the experienced provider pathway
Asha is an existing provider who has been authorised to provide personal advice since 1 July 2009 without interruption and passed the financial adviser exam in May 2021 – that is, before her exam cut-off day. Asha has until 1 January 2026 to meet the qualifications standard.
Asha decides to access the experienced provider pathway. On 1 April 2025, Asha makes a written declaration and emails a copy to her authorising AFS licensee.
Asha’s authorising AFS licensee confirms Asha is eligible for the experienced provider pathway by:
reviewing the financial advisers register and the ASIC banned and disqualified and enforceable undertakings registers, and
establishing that Asha passed the financial adviser exam by the exam cut-off day that applied to her.
The AFS licensee then notifies ASIC it has received the written declaration within 30 business days after the day it received the declaration from Asha.
Before 1 January 2026 (when the requirement for Asha to meet the qualifications standard commences), Asha’s authorising AFS licensee performs checks as part of its obligation to ensure that the existing providers it authorises to provide personal advice meet the qualifications standard. Given the AFS licensee had already satisfied itself that Asha is eligible to rely on the experienced provider pathway before notifying ASIC that it received the declaration from Asha, no additional checks are required to confirm that Asha has met the qualifications standard.
In February 2026, Asha decides to move to a new AFS licensee and gives a copy of her written declaration to the new licensee. Since the new AFS licensee must determine whether or not Asha meets the qualifications standard before authorising her to provide personal advice and registering her with ASIC, it first verifies Asha’s eligibility to access the experienced provider pathway. The new AFS licensee performs its own checks even though Asha has informed it that her previous authorising AFS licensee had already verified her eligibility to rely on the experienced provider pathway.
Please note that this information sheet is a summary giving you basic information about a particular topic. It does not cover the whole of the relevant law regarding that topic, and it is not a substitute for professional advice. We encourage you to seek your own professional advice to find out how the applicable laws apply to you, as it is your responsibility to determine your obligations.
You should also note that because this information sheet avoids legal language wherever possible, it might include some generalisations about the application of the law. Some provisions of the law referred to have exceptions or important qualifications. In most cases your particular circumstances must be taken into account when determining how the law applies to you.
Information sheets provide concise guidance on a specific process or compliance issue or an overview of detailed guidance.
