Approvals of diplomas, bridging courses by FASEA at a standstill
The Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority has provided an update about graduate diplomas and bridging courses, stating that no approvals have been made in relation to applications received from higher education providers.
In an online update, FASEA said that no approvals have yet been made in relation to the applications it has received from higher education providers for the provision of graduate diplomas and bridging courses.
Before the cut-off date of 12 April 2019, FASEA said it had received 14 applications by graduate diplomas for accreditation and 11 applications by bridging course providers for accreditation.
As advised previously, FASEA said it will take a period of up to eight weeks upon receipt of applications to assess and approve those applications.
“Further advice on accredited graduate diploma and bridging course providers are due to be announced mid-June 2019,” it stated.
“This would allow accredited providers sufficient time to commence offering accredited graduate diplomas and bridging courses in the second half of the 2019 calendar year.”
In late March, FASEA announced that the Financial Planning Association of Australia’s five-unit Certified Financial Planner program had been assessed pursuant to FASEA’s program and provider accreditation policy, and that planners who had completed the program would receive two credits for the existing adviser pathway set out in FASEA’s education standard.
Both the major accounting bodies have applied to FASEA to have their programs recognised by FASEA as a professional designation.
SMSF Adviser understands they are both still awaiting the outcome of their applications.
Licensing for Accountants chief executive Kath Bowler previously told SMSF Adviser that it may take longer for FASEA to assess how it would treat accounting designations, because there are lots of different concessions that would need to be assessed.
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.
