ASIC’s FAR to show whether advisers can provide tax advice

ASIC has announced that its Financial Advisers Register (FAR) will display whether an adviser can provide tax (financial) advice services to retail clients beginning next month.

In a statement on Friday, the regulator said that Australian Financial Services (AFS) licensees should notify it before February if their financial advisers can provide tax (financial) advice services and this information is not already recorded on the FAR published on Moneysmart.

“Importantly, if ASIC is not notified whether a financial adviser can provide tax (financial) advice services by 1 February 2023, the FAR will not display whether the adviser can provide tax (financial) advice services,” ASIC said.

“It is the responsibility of AFS licensees to ensure that the details recorded on the Financial Advisers Register about their financial advisers is correct.”

ASIC stated that, since the beginning of last year, advisers who provide or intend to provide tax (financial) advice services to retail clients must meet certain new requirements, including the completion of specified courses in commercial law and taxation law.

Additional continuing professional development requirements also apply. Advisers who meet these requirements are known as “qualified tax relevant providers” (QTRPs).

ASIC said that advisers who were registered with the Tax Practitioners Board as individual tax (financial) advisers at the relevant time are taken to be QTRPs on an indefinite basis.

The regulator indicated that it has written to each of these advisers and their respective AFS licensees notifying them of their QTRP status.

“ASIC also recorded on the FAR that these financial advisers can provide tax (financial) advice services unless their AFS licensee has advised ASIC that they are not authorised to provide tax (financial) advice services,” ASIC said.

“This is the record that ASIC intends to display from 1 February 2023.”

ASIC noted that the requirements related to QTRPs are separate from those which require advisers to be registered with the regulator by 1 July. The federal government announced a six-month delay to the financial adviser registration requirement in November last year.