Advisers urged to maximise FASEA exam attempts

In correspondence to AIOFP members, FASEA chief executive Stephen Glenfield confirmed that those who sat in either January or March would have an opportunity to sit the exam two more times if necessary ahead of the 1 January 2022 deadline.

Mr Glenfield confirmed that registrations for the January exam session, which runs from 28 January to 2 February, would close today, with bookings for the 25-30 March session closing on 5 March.

“Advisers who have registered for January, but who feel they need further preparation time may transfer their registration to the March sitting at no cost up to the closure date of booking for the January exam, and at a small administration fee thereafter,” he said.

A technicality within the FASEA exam legislative instrument means that advisers are only able to sit the exam once within a 90-day period, meaning despite the six sittings offered over the 2021 calendar year, candidates who fail will be capped on their number of attempts.

Those who do not pass by the deadline would also need to re-enter the industry as a new entrant, with the full education and training standards applicable including a Bachelor level degree and undertaking a professional year.

According to the most recent FASEA figures, just over half of advisers on the ASIC register - or 11,241 practitioners - have passed the exam so far.

Mr Glenfield said FASEA made “a good deal of exam practice and preparation material available on its website”. 

“This includes practice questions that will give members a good guide to how the exam questions are structured,” he said.

Mr Glenfield also flagged the possibility of a pre-exam briefing webinar for the association if enough members were interested.