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Australian Securities and Investments Commission

Australia financial adviser exam, professional standards and responsible manager path

How ASIC financial adviser exam, relevant provider standards, professional year, CPD, RG 146 boundary, responsible managers, and AFSL people evidence fit together.

Who this helps

  • - Future financial advisers
  • - AFSL responsible manager candidates
  • - Relevant providers
  • - AFSL compliance teams

Roles covered

  • - Relevant provider
  • - Provisional relevant provider
  • - Financial adviser
  • - Responsible manager
  • - Authorised representative

Route steps

  1. 1. Decide whether the person will provide personal advice to retail clients, general advice, wholesale-only services, responsible manager evidence, or authorised representative services.
  2. 2. For relevant providers, check ASIC professional standards: qualifications, financial adviser exam, professional year, CPD, and Code of Ethics.
  3. 3. For responsible managers, map competence to the AFSL authorisations and organisational competence evidence.
  4. 4. Record the person correctly on the Financial Advisers Register or AFSL records where required.

Core exam and competence checks

  • - Relevant providers and persons training to become relevant providers must pass the ASIC financial adviser exam.
  • - ASIC states the exam is administered by ASIC with ACER delivering the exam.
  • - The exam tests regulatory/legal requirements, advice construction, and applied ethical/professional reasoning.
  • - RG 146 no longer applies to relevant providers or provisional relevant providers, but continues for certain general advice and other listed roles.

Sponsorship, appointment, or firm tie-in

  • - AFS licensees authorise relevant providers and must provide ASIC with required register information.
  • - A responsible manager is not the same as a relevant provider; AFSL organisational competence and advice professional standards should be mapped separately.
  • - Existing provider, professional year, CPD, Code of Ethics, and exam timing issues should be checked from ASIC before action.

How this fits the application

  • - AFSL applications and variations should explain responsible manager competence by authorisation.
  • - Retail personal advice requires professional standards evidence as well as licensee supervision.
  • - Register accuracy matters for consumer verification and ongoing compliance.

Common mistakes

  • - Confusing responsible manager evidence with the financial adviser exam path.
  • - Assuming RG 146 is the current route for all advisers.
  • - Ignoring professional year and CPD when planning an adviser career path.
  • - Treating wholesale-only work and retail personal advice as the same people route.

Study routes to open next

Disclaimer

Information on LicenseCompare is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal, regulatory, financial, tax, investment, or professional advice. Licensing requirements depend on facts and change over time. Always consult official regulator materials and qualified professional advisers.