To provide personal financial advice in Australia, you must be authorised and registered as a relevant provider (financial adviser). This is done by an Australian Financial Services (AFS) licensee.
Your education and training requirements are different if you are an:
- Existing provider; or
- Experienced provider
If you are not an existing or experienced provider please visit Becoming a financial adviser.
Existing provider
You are an ‘existing provider’ if you were authorised to provide personal advice to retail clients at any time between 1 January 2016 and 1 January 2019.
This includes providing personal advice in a foreign country.
You are not an existing provider if on 1 January 2019 you were:
- Banned or disqualified from providing financial services in Australia;
- Subject to an enforceable undertaking by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC); or
- Prohibited under the law of the foreign country from providing financial advice.
You are not able to use the existing provider pathway if you were authorised on your exam cut‑off day but did not pass the exam.
To meet the qualifications standard existing providers must:
- Complete an approved qualification; or
- Complete top‑up study as equivalent to an approved qualification.
Existing providers must pass the financial adviser exam. You do not need to do a professional year.
You must take part in Continuing Professional Development (CPD). For information on the exam and CPD activities please visit the ASIC website.
Experienced provider
You are an ‘experienced provider’ if you were authorised in Australia to provide personal advice to retail clients for at least 3,650 days between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2021.
This may be part‑time or full‑time experience. The authorisation does not need to be over consecutive days.
You are not an experienced provider if on 31 December 2021 you were:
- Banned or disqualified from providing financial services or
- Subject to an enforceable undertaking by the ASIC.
You are not able to use the experienced provider pathway if you were authorised on your exam cut‑off day but did not pass the exam.
To meet the qualifications standards experienced providers must:
- Complete an approved qualification; or
- Complete study to hold an equivalent qualification (if also an existing provider); or
- Make a valid declaration to an AFS licensee.
Experienced providers must pass the financial adviser exam. If you access this pathway, you do not need to do a professional year.
You must take part in Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
For information on the exam and CPD activities please visit the ASIC website.
Information about eligibility and how to make a declaration is also on the ASIC website.
Transitional arrangements for the qualifications standard
Transitional timeframes apply for meeting the qualifications standard.
Existing and experienced providers can continue to be authorised until 1 January 2026.
After this the following rules apply:
- If you are authorised on 1 January 2026 – you must meet the qualifications standard before 31 December 2025.
- If you are not authorised on 1 January 2026 – you must meet the qualifications standard before being authorised again.
- Your options to meet the qualifications standard remain.
- You continue to be exempt from the professional year.
From 1 January 2026 onwards, there may be significant consequences if you provide personal advice without meeting the qualifications standard.
Full details about how different circumstances apply are available on the ASIC website.
Approved qualifications
The Corporations (Relevant Providers Degrees, Qualifications and Courses Standard) Determination 2021 (the Determination) lists approved qualifications.
The list is grouped by education provider in alphabetical order. Schedule 1 – Part 1 lists Bachelor’s degrees and Schedule 1 – Part 2 lists post‑graduate degrees.
A qualification is only approved if it exactly matches one of the qualifications on the list. This includes any conditions.
For more help on how to read the Determination please visit Approved qualifications.
It is the responsibility of the AFS licensee to determine if a qualification is approved.
Equivalent study for existing providers
Existing providers can complete extra approved study to be equivalent to an approved qualification.
The extra study depends on a person’s prior study and existing qualifications.
Equivalent study is outlined in Section 8 of Part 3 of the Determination.
Approved bridging units are listed in Schedule 2.
Existing providers are only required to complete at most an eight‑unit graduate diploma.
Existing providers who wish to rely on their foreign qualifications to meet the requirements must submit eligible qualifications to Treasury for assessment (see below for more information).
Foreign qualification assessments
If you have completed a foreign qualification you may apply for an assessment. Your qualification must be a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Approval of a foreign qualification may be subject to completion of more study.
Visit Foreign qualification assessments to make an application.
Domestic qualification assessments
You do not need to apply for approval after completing an approved degree if you meet all the conditions.
If you completed an approved degree but you did not meet the conditions, you may apply to have it approved.
You should only apply if you have met the conditions but not exactly as listed. This includes completing an ethics bridging unit if needed.
This may include situations where a subject:
- name or code has changed
- is completed outside the approved qualification.
Visit Domestic qualification assessments to make an application.
Qualified Tax Relevant Providers (QTRP)
To provide tax (financial) advice services you must meet extra standards. The Corporations (Relevant Providers – Education and Training Standards) Determination 2021 outlines these standards.
This includes completing:
- a course in commercial law
- a course in taxation law
- tax‑specific CPD activities.
Many approved qualifications meet the commercial law and taxation law course requirements.
It is the responsibility of the AFS licensee to determine if these standards are met.
Transitional rules may also apply for existing providers.
More details are available on the ASIC website.
More help
The ASIC website can help you determine how the standards apply. This will differ depending on your circumstances.
If you would like more information please contact us.