Due to the large number of AFA and FPA members that were unhappy with the 'short' timeframes allowed to a) pass the FASEA Financial Planner examination (which basically just tests the ethics and best interest concepts that all financial advisers should already have embedded into the day-to-day practice), and b) upgrade their educational qualifications to meet the new minimum requirement of the equivalent of a tertiary degree in financial planning, the AFA and FPA have been actively lobbying the Federal government to extend the current deadlines.
The rational for extending the FASEA exam deadline was that it had originally been announced as being "two years" to pass the exam, but due to the time required for FASEA to actually develop the exam with ACER and implement the first round of exams in June, the original deadline of 1 Jan 2021 would have 'only' allowed 18 months for existing financial planners to pass the exam (or be deregistered and have to go through the 'new adviser' process). The associations also complained that due to the time taken to mark exams and issue results, the last possible session for sitting the exam and receiving notification of a 'pass' before the deadline would have been Sep 2020, not the end of the year. In the end the government agreed to change the exam deadline to 1 Jan 2022 (a full 12 months extension), which allows more than two years to sit and pass the exam (I sat my exam in June and passed, and around 90% of the first cohort passed, so it isn't a particular difficult exam).
The deadline for the educational requirements was originally 1 Jan 2024, which seemed perfectly generous to me - even doing a full Masters or Bachelors degree in financial planning would only take 4-6 years part-time for those with no advanced standing for 'prior learning' such as the advanced DFP or a CFP qualification. But apparently due to business and family commitments (which are the normal status for nearly all part-time students) many financial planners had indicated it would be 'too hard' to meet this deadline. So, the deadline for the educational requirements has been extended by two years - to 1 Jan 2026.
The AFA and FPA have expressed the hope that this extended deadline will allow more planners to remain in the profession. Personally I think this would be due more to older, existing planners being able to keep working until the end of 2025 without needing to upgrade their educational qualifications, than many more planners attaining the higher educational requirements simply due to having another couple of years to complete the studies. Those who complained the most (planners with many years of experience and no tertiary qualifications) will still find it a shock to go 'back to school' at a university level, regardless of how much time they are given to complete the courses.
On the downside, the changes mean that the public may still be getting 'professional advice' from financial advisers that don't have a tertiary education for another five years...
Both changes will require legislation to be passed before coming into effect.
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