FASEA issues draft professional year guidance

In a statement on its website, FASEA announced the proposed rules for the professional year, which all new entrants to the industry must complete before providing advice.

“The professional year is an essential component of the educational qualifications and standards that all new entrants are required by law to undertake before they can provide personal financial advice to retail clients,” the draft guidance said.

“The requirement is intended to ensure consistent, minimum professional standards of education and competence apply to financial advisers nationally.”

According to FASEA, the professional year will “encompass practical learning of four core technical competencies”, which the advisers completing the professional year will have been taught as part of their degree course.

The four competencies to be tested are “technical competence, client care and practice, regulatory compliance and consumer protection, professionalism and ethics,” FASEA said.

The full proposed guidance on the professional year can be read on FASEA’s website here.

In a separate statement also released today, FASEA explained that advisers completing their professional year will be considered “provisional financial advisers” during this 12 months and must be referred to as such until completion.

FASEA also released draft guidance on the use of this term, which can be viewed here.

Submissions on the guidance for both the professional year and the term to be used for provisional relevant providers can be made to FASEA until 5pm on 17 August 2018.