A Financial Adviser is known as a relevant provider. Relevant provider can be an existing financial adviser or a qualified tax relevant provider. New entrants are those who want to become financial advisers.

New Financial Adviser

A new Financial Adviser or new entrant is a person in training to become a financial adviser.

Since 1 January 2019, new entrants wanting to commence a career as a financial adviser must:

• complete an approved bachelor's degree (AQF7 level) or above or equivalent. Check whether the course is approved on the current legislative instrument
• undertake a professional year
• pass the financial adviser exam administered by ASIC
• comply with CPD requirement (not in your professional year)
• comply with the Code of Ethics.

Provisional Financial Advisers

A new entrant can be classified as a ‘provisional relevant provider’ after they have achieved the following milestones:

• completed an approved degree or equivalent qualification
• completed quarter one and quarter two of the professional year
• passed the financial adviser exam
• being authorised by their Australian Financial Services Licensee as a provisional relevant provider on the Financial Adviser Register.

After a provisional relevant provider completes the third and fourth quarter of the professional year, subject to the authorisation from their AFSL, they may be classified as a relevant provider.

Existing adviser

This pathway closed on 31 December 2025.

To be recognised as an existing financial adviser (‘existing provider’), a person must, among other requirements, have been authorised to provide personal advice on ‘relevant financial products’ between 1 January 2016 and 1 January 2019. In general, this will mean that the adviser was listed on the Financial Advisers Register at any time during that period.

They need to:

• have an approved qualification – bachelor’s degree AQF7 level or above, or equivalent, by 1 January 2026
• pass the financial adviser exam before 1 January 2022, or be qualified for the extension to 1 October 2022 (refer to ASIC INFO 260 for exam timeframes)
• participate in 40 hours of continuing professional development

Experienced provider Pathway

This pathway closed on 31 December 2025.

An ‘experienced provider’ is an individual who was authorised to provide personal advice to a retail client. To qualify for the experienced provider pathway, the individual must meet the following requirements.

• Minimum of 10 years’ experience (need not be consecutive) during the period from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2021
• A clean disciplinary record as at 31 December 2021
• Passing the financial adviser exam by the applicable exam cut off date and ongoing compliance with continuing professional development requirements

Generally, a relevant provider who meets the criteria for an ‘experienced provider’ can rely on the experienced provider pathway to meet the qualifications standard and the professional year standard without needing to undertake further education and training.

Qualified Tax Relevant Provider (QTRP)

A relevant provider who has met the education and training requirements to provide tax (financial) advice services is a Qualified Tax Relevant Provider.

To be a QTRP you must:

• be a relevant provider
• complete a commercial law course and a tax law course unless they are exempt or have additional time to complete it
• complete five hours of continuing professional development relating to the provision of tax (financial) advice each CPD year.

From 1 January 2022, additional education and training requirements apply to relevant providers who provide, or intend to provide, tax (financial) advice services to retail clients.

If you were a registered tax (financial) adviser with the Tax Practitioners Board immediately prior to 1 January 2022, generally the grandfathering provisions applies. Contact the financial advice team to find out more.

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