Australia’s Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (Fasea) has released the latest qualification standards that foreign advisers need to have to work in the country.
The authority has introduced a two-step process to determine if advisers who have overseas qualifications meet minimum standards.
First, they will need to be assessed by a department of education and training approved body and then undergo an assessment by Fasea, where their foreign qualifications will be examined and translated into the Australian equivalent.
Once the two assessments are finalised, Fasea will inform the foreign adviser whether their education is sufficient and complies with the latest requirements or if they’ll need to undergo further education to work as an adviser in Australia.
The changes to the qualification standards were made after Fasea held a consultation with stakeholders in August 2018 and received eight formal submissions during a second consultation process in November 2018.
Some of the changes made and suggested during both sessions include an assessment of Fasea knowledge areas, like the Australian regulatory and legal obligations of financial advisers, and the possibility to review Fasea assessment process for a fee.
“We thank stakeholders for their constructive input during the consultation process for Fasea’s Foreign Qualifications standard and are pleased to have reflected this input where appropriate in the Foreign Qualifications Policy,” said Stephen Glenfield, chief executive of Fasea.
