FASEA releases CPD guidance

Under the proposed guidance, financial advisers will be required to complete a minimum of 50 hours of continuing professional development each year, 70 per cent of which must be approved by the adviser's licensee.

Advisers will also be required to maintain "a continuous, up-to-date and accurate record of their CPD activities, including evidence of completion of any CPD activity that is intended to be relied on to meet this standard" and hold these records for six years and make sure their licensee has access to those records as well.

Licensees will be required to maintain and publish a CPD policy, which their advisers must adhere to, and this must include:

• Overall approach to CPD;
• Process for approving CPD activities and the mechanism for allocating hours to these;
• Approach to any professional development plans for relevant providers;
• Process for ensuring CPD activities are provided by persons and/or entities that are appropriate (with sufficient standing, expertise and qualifications);
• Approach to evidencing outcomes of CPD;
• Approach to record keeping; and
• Approach to auditing compliance with the policy.

The full guidance can be viewed on the FASEA website here, and interested parties can make submissions to the standards authority until 31 August 2018.