ASIC releases results from first exam after structural changes

The exam held on 26 March, which had been delayed from 15 February in order to implement the changes, was the first to see the removal of short answer questions from the exam, leaving only multiple choice questions. The requirement that only provisional relevant providers and existing advisers could sit the exam was also removed.

The changes followed a brief Treasury consultation on draft legislation at the end of 2023 which the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) then confirmed it would be implementing in January.

It was hoped that multiple choice questions would be more efficient by enabling computer marking to replace manual marking which would reduce the cost of administering the exam and improve response times for candidates to receive their results.

Some 298 people sat the exam and 70 per cent of these (210 candidates) passed the exam. The majority of the candidates at 230 were sitting the exam for the first time, ASIC said.

This pass mark was up slightly from 66 per cent in the November exam but below the highest pass mark in 2023 which was 73 per cent of candidates who sat the exam in August.

The results were issued exactly a month after sitting the exam.

Unsuccessful candidates will receive general feedback from the Australian Council for Educational Research on the areas they underperformed.

To date, 21,102 individual candidates have sat the exam and 92 per cent of them have passed, demonstrating their knowledge in advice construction, ethics and legal requirements.