FASEA Compliance Requirements for Financial Advisers: What You Need to Know in 2026

The Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) set the educational and professional standards for financial advisers providing personal advice on financial products to retail clients. While FASEA itself was wound up in 2022 — with its functions transferred to ASIC and the Financial Services and Credit Panel — the standards it established remain in force and are enforced by ASIC.

If you run a financial advisory practice or employ financial advisers, understanding and meeting these standards is a non-negotiable financial services compliance obligation.

Who Do the Standards Apply To?

The education and training standards apply to financial advisers — those who are registered on ASIC's financial advisers register and who provide personal advice on relevant financial products to retail clients.

Relevant financial products include: superannuation, managed investments, securities, derivatives, life insurance, and most general insurance products (with some exceptions).

General advice (advice that does not consider the client's personal circumstances) does not require registration, but most client-facing financial advice — financial planning, SMSF advice, wealth management — involves personal advice.

The Three Pillars of the Adviser Standards

1. Education Requirements

Financial advisers must hold a qualifying degree — an approved degree in a relevant discipline (finance, commerce, business, economics, accounting, or similar). ASIC maintains a list of approved degrees and providers.

For existing advisers who were registered before 1 January 2019 and did not hold a qualifying degree, there was a transitional pathway involving:

• Completing an approved bridging course or degree by the deadline (most deadline extensions have now expired)
• Or demonstrating appropriate equivalent qualifications through a prior learning assessment

For new advisers entering the profession from January 2019 onwards: a qualifying degree is required before registration.

Practice implications:

• Check that each adviser in your practice holds an approved qualifying degree
• For any advisers who relied on transitional arrangements, confirm they completed the required bridging education within the applicable deadline
• Retain copies of qualification certificates for each adviser

2. The Financial Adviser Exam

All financial advisers providing personal advice to retail clients were required to pass the FASEA financial adviser exam (now administered by ASIC). This is a national, standardised exam testing competency in:

• Financial advice regulations and legal obligations
• Tax (financial) advice obligations
• Superannuation
• Applied ethics and professional standards

Exam status as of 2026:

The exam became mandatory for advisers registered before certain dates, with deadlines for completion that have now passed. All advisers who were required to pass the exam and have not done so are no longer able to provide personal financial advice to retail clients.

If you employ advisers: Confirm that each adviser has passed the exam (their pass status should be visible on ASIC's financial advisers register, which is publicly searchable).

If a new adviser joins your practice: Confirm they have passed the exam before they provide personal advice to retail clients (or arrange for them to sit the exam before commencing advice activities).

3. Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

Registered financial advisers must complete 40 hours of CPD per year, which must include:

• At least 70% (28 hours) in the following categories: Financial planning (at least 20 hours), client care and practice (at least 4 hours), regulatory compliance and consumer protection (at least 4 hours)
• Up to 30% (12 hours) may be in technical or product-specific training relevant to the adviser's practice
• At least 9 hours in categories where the adviser self-identified a development need

The CPD year runs from 1 January to 31 December.

Key obligations:

• Advisers must maintain a CPD record (what was completed, how many hours, which category)
• AFSL licensees must maintain records of their advisers' CPD completion
• ASIC may request CPD records during an audit or investigation

If an adviser fails to meet CPD requirements in a given year, this must be disclosed to the AFSL licensee. The licensee is responsible for ensuring advisers on their register meet CPD requirements.

The Code of Ethics

FASEA also established a Code of Ethics for financial advisers, which applies to all registered financial advisers and consists of 12 standards covering topics including:

• Acting in the best interests of clients
• Providing only advice appropriate to clients
• Maintaining competency
• Managing conflicts of interest
• Acting with integrity and honesty

Compliance with the Code is a condition of registration. Breaches of the Code can be investigated by the Financial Services and Credit Panel (FSCP) and result in orders against the adviser, including suspension or deregistration.

AFSL Licensee Obligations in Relation to Adviser Standards

If you are an AFSL licensee with authorised representatives who are financial advisers, you have specific responsibilities:

• Register advisers on ASIC's financial advisers register before they provide personal advice
• Supervise advisers to ensure they comply with the education standards, Code of Ethics, and CPD requirements
• Maintain training records for all advisers on your register
• Report to ASIC when an adviser's registration status changes (e.g., they leave the practice, their registration is suspended)
• Investigate and respond to complaints about advisers

Failure to properly oversee your authorised representatives — including their compliance with FASEA standards — is a breach of your AFSL obligations and can result in ASIC action against you as the licensee.

Practical Steps for Your Practice

1. Audit your advisers' qualifications and exam status — check the ASIC financial advisers register for each adviser
2. Implement a CPD tracking system — ensure each adviser has a record of their CPD hours per year, by category
3. Set up CPD approval processes — ensure CPD activities claimed by advisers are legitimate and appropriately categorised
4. Review employment contracts — ensure they reference CPD obligations and include consequences for non-compliance
5. Build into onboarding — for new adviser hires, confirm degree, exam pass, and Code of Ethics understanding before they provide advice

How Reguladar Helps

FASEA compliance obligations — alongside AFSL conditions, AFCA membership, privacy obligations, and employment law — represent a dense and ongoing compliance picture for small financial advisory practices. Reguladar gives practice owners a single compliance dashboard to track all their obligations in one place.

Start your free compliance check at Reguladar →