Licensees reminded on important CPD deadline for FASEA
A compliance firm has reminded licensees that they will need to have their CPD training policy published on their website and ensure training plans for their advisers are in place by the end of this month.
Sophie Grace Compliance and Legal manager of licensing and compliance Alicia Pevely said the new professional adviser standards require advisers to complete 40 hours of CPD each year and have at least 70 per cent of the CPD activity approved by their licensee.
Advisers must maintain records of their CPD activities and provide records of their CPD activities to their licensee.
“All licensees have until 31 March 2019 to publish their CPD training policy on their website and ensure CPD training plans for all relevant providers are in place,” Ms Pevely warned.
With the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) yet to approve any CPD activities or providers in their CPD policy at this stage, for now, it is up to licensees to make an assessment as to whether the CPD activity is appropriate, Ms Pevely.
“Licensees will need to consider the level of expertise of the provider and the facilitator, the level and type of learning undertaken, the learning outcomes and volume of time in undertaking the activity and the approach for verification of learning outcomes achieved,” she said.
FASEA has set minimum CPD hour requirements for specific categories including technical competence, client care and practice, regulatory compliance and consumer protection, and professionalism and ethics, Ms Pevely explained.
“Licensees and their [advisers] will need to look at a range of CPD activities, beyond industry conferences, to ensure the minimum hour requirements are met,” she said.
Miranda Brownlee
Miranda Brownlee is the deputy editor of SMSF Adviser, which is the leading source of news, strategy and educational content for professionals working in the SMSF sector.
Since joining the team in 2014, Miranda has been responsible for breaking some of the biggest superannuation stories in Australia, and has reported extensively on technical strategy and legislative updates.
Miranda also has broad business and financial services reporting experience, having written for titles including Investor Daily, ifa and Accountants Daily.
