ASIC webinar on assessing relevant provider qualifications

See Australian Qualifications Framework on the Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency website for more information on qualification levels.

An individual should provide the Australian financial services (AFS) licensee with the final academic transcript(s) of the completed degree or qualification to be assessed against the Determination. The degree or qualification in the final academic transcript(s) must exactly match a degree or qualification listed in Schedule 1 of the Determination, including any conditions relating to that degree or qualification.

Alternatively, the individual can provide the AFS licensee with the relevant evidence for assessment against the Determination if the individual has:

• received written approval from the Minister that their degree or qualification is equivalent to the one listed in the Determination (where the person’s academic transcript(s) or statement(s) otherwise do not meet all of the prescribed conditions for that degree or qualification in the Determination), or
• one or more statements or transcripts issued by the higher education provider of the approved degree or qualification that confirms that the person has met each of the approved conditions specified in the Determination in relation to the qualification.

Generally, relevant providers who are existing providers can also meet the qualifications standard by completing qualifications equivalent to the qualifications standard – that is, one of the existing provider pathways as set out in Part 3 of the Determination. This does not apply to existing providers who did not pass the financial adviser exam by their exam cut-off day and who remained authorised to provide personal advice at the start of their exam cut-off day.

Existing providers who have completed qualifications equivalent to the qualifications standard as set out in Part 3 of the Determination should provide their AFS licensee with their final academic transcript(s) and evidence of any other studies they have completed that will enable them to satisfy one of the existing provider pathways. Their licensee can then assess the transcript(s) and other evidence against Part 3 of the Determination.

For more information about applying the professional standards to an individual’s personal circumstances, see Applying the professional standards.

See the Treasury website for guidance on designated areas of study.

The professional standards contained in section 921B of the Corporations Act 2001, which include the qualifications standard, apply to relevant providers – that is, individuals who are authorised to provide personal advice to retail clients in relation to relevant financial products. If the individual is not a relevant provider, the professional standards do not apply to them.

The commencement date is the date when the person commenced an approved degree with the higher education provider in Schedule 1 of the Determination who conferred the degree.

Although the higher education provider may recognise prior learning, the commencement date is the date the person commenced their degree with the higher education provider listed in Schedule 1 of the Determination. The date when the person commenced units with a different higher education provider should not be considered to be the date when they commenced the relevant approved degree.

In order for a higher education provider to offer an approved degree or qualification, the Minister must have first accredited the course as an approved degree or qualification. The courses listed in the Determination have been approved by the Minister and can be offered by the named higher education providers.

ASIC staff are unable to give advice about whether people meet the qualifications standard on an individual basis. We have provided guidance in this webinar and on the ASIC website in relation to how a qualifications assessment can be completed. There is also some useful information on the Treasury website in relation to this topic.

We encourage AFS licensees and relevant providers to obtain their own independent advice, specific to their individual circumstances, if they remain unsure about how the qualifications standard applies to them.

ASIC has made available a one-off, point-in-time dataset to assist AFS licensees in determining which qualifications are marked as a qualification, course or unit that goes towards the relevant provider meeting the qualifications standard.

This dataset provides a list of the qualifications and training information recorded on the Financial advisers Register for relevant providers who are currently authorised and listed on the register. The dataset is current as at 19 November 2024. Any incorrect or out-of-date information must be updated by lodging a ‘maintain’ transaction on ASIC Connect.

You must update any information you have entered on the Financial advisers register in the past in a different format. It is important to ensure that the information recorded on the register is up to date and accurate, and exactly matches the details in the Determination.

You should not wait before entering details on the Financial advisers register. If the relevant provider has already completed education and training that is relevant to the provision of financial services, the AFS licensee should notify ASIC of this when appointing the relevant provider or within 30 business days of the relevant provider completing the qualification or training course.

AFS licensees should record the educational qualifications and training courses their adviser has completed that are relevant to the provision of financial services.

Whether a qualification or a course is relevant to the provision of financial services is a matter for AFS licensees and relevant providers to determine.

The qualifications and training courses completed by the adviser that are relevant to the provision of financial services must be listed on the Financial advisers register.

If the qualification or training course goes towards the relevant provider meeting the qualifications standard, it must be marked as such by ticking the relevant check box.

Any other qualifications or training courses that are relevant to the provision of financial services should also be listed. But if they do not go towards the relevant provider meeting the qualifications standard, they should not be marked as such.

The education provider name and the degree, qualification or course name should be entered exactly as they appear in the Determination. See for example the degree listed under Kaplan Higher Education Pty Limited at item 88C of the Determination, ‘Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning (Historical SIA / FINSIA)’. For this degree, the AFS licensee would record ‘Kaplan Higher Education Pty Limited’ as the education provider and the course name as it appears in the Determination (i.e. ‘Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning (Historical SIA / FINSIA)’).

You should enter the full name of the higher education provider as listed on the certificate. It may include the legal terms ‘proprietary’ and ‘limited’ or abbreviations ‘pty’ and ‘ltd’ at the end of the name. For qualifications and courses listed in the Determination, enter the name used in the Determination. For example, for item 85 of the Determination, enter ‘Kaplan Higher Education Pty Limited’ in line with the Determination.

The education and training details (including higher education provider details) should match those listed in the Determination. If the information previously provided to ASIC is incorrect, the AFS licensee must update the information.

You must enter the details of each unit. See Example qualification assessment 5: Non-relevant degree, eight unit diploma of financial planning, and professional study (PDF 304 KB) for a similar example.

Although existing providers have until 1 January 2026 to meet the qualifications standard, they must notify ASIC of a relevant provider’s education and training that is relevant to the provision of financial services within 30 business days of the relevant provider completing the education and training. This is not a new obligation. AFS licensees should ensure that the information they provide to ASIC is true, accurate and timely.

For more information, see Fees to update the Financial advisers register.

The check box should only be ticked once the relevant provider has met the qualifications standard. For example, if the existing provider has completed one out of two bridging units at the time of updating the qualifications on ASIC Connect, the check box should not be ticked.

If you previously indicated that ‘This course is a qualification approved by FASEA’ or ‘This course is a qualification approved by the Minister’ (before the wording was amended), the check box will now be marked as ‘This qualification, course and/or units of study goes towards meeting the qualifications standard set out in s921B(2) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)’. It does not need updating.

The check box is not new. However, the wording was updated in 2022 to remove the reference to ‘FASEA approved’ qualifications and training in line with legislative changes introduced by the Financial Sector Reform (Hayne Royal Commission Response—Better Advice) Act 2021.

The wording was also updated in 2024 to remove the reference to ‘Approved’ qualifications to reflect that existing providers can also complete one of the existing provider pathways as set out in Part 3 of the Determination to attain a qualification equivalent to the qualifications standard.

If the relevant provider has met the qualifications standard, all qualifications and training courses that go towards the relevant provider meeting the qualifications standard must be marked as such by ticking the check box. This may include qualifications or courses that are not approved degrees (e.g. approved bridging units or units of study).

Any other qualifications or training courses that are relevant to the provision of financial services should also be listed on the Financial advisers register. But if they do not go towards the relevant provider meeting the qualifications standard, they should not be marked as such and the check box should remain unticked.

There is a user guide on How to maintain a relevant providers details (including screenshots) available on the ASIC website.

If an AFS licensee is including this information on the Financial advisers register as part of a relevant provider’s appointment form, there is no additional cost associated with including this information, and the usual appointment fee applies: see Fees to update the Financial advisers register.

If an AFS licensee is updating or maintaining a relevant provider’s qualifications and training courses, a maintenance fee applies. If an AFS licensee updates multiple pieces of information about a relevant provider in a single transaction, only one fee applies per representative.

If a relevant provider’s details change, an AFS licensee must update the Financial advisers register within 30 business days of the change taking place, otherwise a late fee will apply. An AFS licensee can update the details of up to 25 representatives at a time through ASIC Connect.

If you have a question or require assistance, visit the Contact us page on the ASIC website.

If study to attain a professional designation goes towards the relevant provider meeting the qualifications standard, it should be included on the Financial advisers register and marked as such in the ‘qualifications and training’ section of the relevant form.

If the relevant provider has completed study for a professional designation relevant to the provision of financial services, this must be recorded on the Financial advisers register in the qualifications and training section. This still applies if they have completed an approved degree.

A relevant provider’s current professional memberships may be separately recorded. If the relevant provider held a professional designation in the past, but no longer qualifies to hold the designation because they are no longer a member of the relevant professional association, the Financial advisers register must be updated to record that the relevant provider is no longer a member of the relevant professional association.

If one or both of the specified courses required to provide tax (financial) advice services are included in the broader qualification, there is no need to list these courses separately on the Financial advisers register.

If the courses have been completed separate to the adviser’s other qualification(s), list them separately on the Financial advisers register.

If the courses are included in the broader qualification, there is no need to list these courses separately. If the courses are not included in the broader qualification, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down list in the ‘Type of Course’ section, and complete the remaining details.

Information Sheet 281 FAQs: Relevant providers – Accessing the experienced provider pathway (INFO 281) provides guidance for relevant providers seeking to access the experienced provider pathway, including guidance on the declaration they are required to make.

It also provides guidance to AFS licensees on the requirement to notify ASIC when they receive a declaration from an experienced provider they authorise.

An AFS licensee must notify ASIC of any education and training that the relevant provider has completed that is relevant to the provision of financial services. This is regardless of whether the relevant provider is relying on the experienced provider pathway.

Fred would still be an existing provider if he stops being a relevant provider before he completes the ethics unit.

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.

However, Fred would not have a qualification that meets the qualifications standard until he completes the ethics unit.

For more information about applying the professional standards to an individual’s personal circumstances, see Applying the professional standards.