In a communication sent to members on Thursday, FSU assistant national secretary Nathan Rees said the amendments proposed by the opposition to the omnibus bill containing the FASEA deadline extension measures were not news to the government when the bill was put on this week’s Senate agenda, as they had been tabled in February.
“The opposition tabled a proposed amendment to the bill in February. The government indicated this week that it would not accept the amendment,” Mr Rees said.
“The bill, at the time of writing, is now paused. Both the government and the opposition are blaming each other for the delay.”
Mr Rees said the FSU had written to the Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, Minister for Finance, shadow assistant treasurer and shadow minister for financial services, urging them to take all necessary steps to pass the bill.
“It is simply not good enough that your livelihoods and those of your staff are political footballs in the current climate,” he said.
“Australians are looking for political parties to work together to solve issues, not engage in finger pointing. We will continue to press the government and opposition for a resolution on this matter.”
Mr Rees said he would advise members further as discussions continued, and advised FSU members to express their views directly to government Senate leader Mathias Cormann and shadow financial services minister Stephen Jones.
Why does the exam need to be extended? Is it just because it was an option that it might be extended that people decided not to do it?
The exam is not hard, it is not time consuming to prepare for it – preparing would also give you CPD points that you require (and many also complain about).
Let’s just get on with it and move forward. Delaying it is not proving anything about our professionalism when we need it most.
The exam is not hard? Who are you kidding!!! – I am a University graduate that has studied both here and overseas and I would say that is the hardest (and longest) exam I have ever sat!!
What is not hard is to meet is the pass mark as you appear to only need do better than approximately 15% to pass. But I would be thouroghly suprised if more than 5% of particiapants score 90% or higher.
Agree that it is not time conuming to prepare for it and that advisers should not delay though.
Agreed, sat it in Sept last year and while worrying, it ultimately was not that difficult really. If you ahven’t done it and don’t have plans in place to do it in the next 6 months then you deserve the issues associated with non-extensions.
FSU is simply closing ranks with their other union comrades and Labor leaders over this, and aren’t acting in their members interests (planner or accountant or other) at all.
If they were true to their members (as fanciful as that sounds; a union actually worrying about doing the right thing for those they’re meant to protect), they would be lambasting Labor over their dirty tactics of aiming to sneak collective legislation through that ultimately will be to our collective detriment.