FAAA calls for advisers to check records to ensure they are eligible to provide financial advice into 2026

Phil Anderson

Ahead of the 1 January 2026 education/ experience pathway deadline for advisers, the number of advisers for whom the ASIC records indicate are yet to meet the criteria for continuing to practice, has halved since June. However, there are still a large number who remain outstanding, according to the FAAA.

Phil Anderson, FAAA’s general manager policy, advocacy and standards, said the FAAA has been working closely with ASIC over the last few months as the deadline approaches.

“We have recently contacted impacted members and licensees about ensuring that ASIC Connect has been updated to reflect qualifications going towards the qualification standard, and to remind qualifying experienced advisers to complete the declaration and have it processed by their licensee,” he said.

“The most common issues we are aware of include:

• Advisers who have not flagged which pathway they intend to use.
• Advisers intending to use the experience pathway whose date first provided advice is 1 January 2012 or later/ or who did not pass the Financial Adviser Exam before the cutoff (late October 2022 for most).
• Advisers who flagged they do not intend to use the experience pathway, but whose qualifications do not appear to be sufficient.

“Several members who we recently contacted were unaware they might have an issue until they received our email.

“ASIC has created a webpage with detailed information on how to update the register, which also includes a link to the temporary dataset.

“Time is running out fast to resolve this. We urge advisers to double check their ASIC record and contact their licensee urgently if updates are required.”