Registration on the Financial Adviser Register (FAR)
The new Single Disciplinary Body will be responsible for overseeing the register for relevant providers, which will be based on the existing Financial Adviser Register (FAR).
An annual registration requirement for financial planners will commence on 1 January 2022 and includes a two stage registration process:
- Stage 1 – licensees are required to register planners with ASIC with details posted on the Financial Adviser Register (FAR).
- Stage 2 – (once the FAR has been transitioned to the ATO) each financial planner will be individually responsible for registering directly with the ATO.
What happens to your TPB registration?
The requirement for financial planners to register with the TPB and comply with the TASA Code and TPB’s standards, will change from 1 January 2022. These changes differ for relevant providers authorised to provider advice to retail clients, and planners who provide general advice or advice to wholesale clients.
Relevant providers who provide tax (financial) advice services
From 1 January 2022, financial planners who provide a tax (financial) advice service to retail clients will need to be registered:
- on the FAR as a qualified tax relevant provider (and will no longer be required to be separately registered with the TPB or comply with the TASA Code and TPB’s standards), or
- with the TPB as a conditional tax agent (must continue to comply with the TASA Code and TPB’s standards).
Prior to 1 January 2022, financial planners who provide a tax (financial) advice service to retail clients will need to be registered with the TPB or under the supervision of someone who is registered
TPB registrations will transfer across to the new disciplinary body, so you won’t need to register again, and the TPB registration fees you’ve paid will also carry across to the SDB.
Tax and commercial law course requirements
All existing relevant providers who are registered as a tax (financial) adviser immediately before 1 January 2022 will never have to complete the TPB registration commercial law and tax law courses (regardless of your registration pathway).
Existing relevant providers who have applied to register with the TPB prior to 1 January 2022 will never have to complete the TPB tax and commercial law course requirement once your application is subsequently approved.
Existing providers who are not registered, or have not applied to the TPB prior to 1 January 2022, will be granted a temporary exemption from these course requirements between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2025.
Continued Professional Develop (CPD ) requirements
CPD will remain at 40 hours per CPD year for all relevant providers. Qualified tax relevant providers will be required to complete tax specific technical CPD of a minimum of 5 hours as part of the 40 hour total CPD requirement for financial planners (ie 40 hours in total).
Financial planners who provide advice to wholesale clients or provide general advice
Financial planners who provide advice to wholesale clients or provide general advice, and who provide a tax (financial) advice service, must register with the TPB as a tax agent who is restricted to the provision of tax (financial) advice services.
Tax and commercial law course requirements
The current tax (financial) adviser qualification and experience requirements will continue to apply to you after 1 January 2022.
If you were registered as a tax (financial) adviser immediately before 1 January 2022, you do not have to meet any other qualification or experience requirements as long as an application for registration (as a tax agent providing TFA services) is made before 1 January 2023.
The FPA Four Policy Pillars
Read more about the Four Policy Pillars in this article from Financial Planning magazine.
Help us shape the future
Whilst we are extremely active in the development of policy submissions that affect financial planners and consumers, it is our desire to give FPA members a voice in this process.
If you would like to make a contribution to any ongoing policy issues, we would love to hear from you. You can submit your policy recommendation using this template. This will help you map out your policy recommendations in line with our Four Policy Pillars. Your completed submission can be emailed to [email protected].