Struggles of FASEA exam creating ‘self-doubt’ for advisers

“An exam that quite frankly, in many cases, doesn’t have a lot to do with giving advice, a lot of it’s very academic,” Mr Ardino said.

“And that creates a lot of self-doubt and is leading to a lot of advisers suffering mental health issues as a result.”

Mr Ardino added that he is concerned about the questions featured in the exam.

“I did the exam and, my goodness, I was lucky enough to pass and partly it’s because I live and breathe at a licensee level, but I left there scratching my head thinking, ‘Where are these questions coming from?’”

Last week, draft exposure regulations of the incoming Better Advice Bill noted that the exam fee would increase to $948 (currently $540) while an additional $218 fee would apply for the corporate regulator to “review the marking of one or more answers to the written-style responses (non-multiple-choice questions) in an exam”.

Speaking to ifa, AFA general manager Phil Anderson said that the industry body has been concerned about a potential fee increase.

“We had feared that there would be an increase in the cost of the exam in 2022, as a result of the reduction in the number of advisers who will be sitting it,” Mr Anderson said.

“We are, however, concerned by the scale of this increase from $540 (plus GST) to $948. That is a very significant increase.”