ASIC has warned licensees and their advisers to properly check all education details on the Financial Advisers Register ahead of the 1 January 2026 deadline to complete the education standard, as several discrepancies have been found during a spot check.
ASIC’s latest review has identified errors and inconsistencies in its data including advisers declaring themselves as relying on the 10-year experience pathway when they are not eligible as well as advisers whose qualifications have been classed as going toward meeting the education standard when the course has not been completed or is not an approved course.
As of 28 May 2025, there are 15,610 advisers on the FAR. According to information provided by ASFLs, 6426 of these hold a degree or qualification and 4580 are relying on the experience pathway.
Of the other 4604 advisers who do not yet meet the education standard, 1844 could be eligible for the experience pathway, but this information has not been provided to ASIC.
The regulator has also discovered incorrect contact information for some advisers which must be rectified before 1 January 2026 and urges AFSLs to check all information before then.
ASIC is reminding advisers and AFSLs that should the advisers fail to record the required correct information by the deadline, their “existing adviser” status will be revoked and therefore their eligibility to practice.
ASIC’s compliance program was launched 1 July 2024 and aimed to ensure the information regarding qualifications recorded on the FAR was correct and up to date.
Licensee responsibility
It will be the responsibility of AFSLs to provide evidence to ASIC that their advisers qualify for the experience pathway.
The eligibility for the pathway is 10 years’ experience, a clean record and passing the adviser exam. Specifically, they must have been an adviser for a cumulative 3650 days between the start of 2007 and the end of 2021.
Last month, an Adviser Ratings report found only 22 per cent of registered advisers were set up to meet the deadline, leaving 12,000 who had not yet updated their information.
These 12,000 must either have completed a relevant degree by the end of the year or updated their details on the FAR to prove they qualify for the experience pathway.
The research found around 4100 advisers with six to 12 years of experience did not qualify for the experience pathway and therefore must complete their education requirements before the deadline.
Adviser professional standards were introduced in 2017 and required advisers to have an approved tertiary degree by the start of 2024.
The original deadline to complete the education standard was pushed back in 2020, under the Coalition government, which saw the timeframe for the approved degree deferred by two years to 2026.
The experience pathway was passed by the Senate in 2023 and was considered a temporary solution that would not help attract the next generation of advisers.
Though it benefits advisers who don’t have to pursue further education, the bill impacted the tertiary sector that had put in work to design financial advice courses.
In January 2025, Professional Planner reported there were approximately 3000 advisers on the path to gain academic credentials by the deadline with the help of financial educators.
