FASEA Continuous Professional Development 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under FASEA CPD requirements, what must an adviser do if they fail to meet the minimum CPD hours in a given year?
- They must immediately surrender their licence
- They must report the shortfall to their licensee and create a remediation plan (Correct answer)
- Nothing, as CPD hours can always be rolled over to the next year
- They must retake the FASEA exam
Correct answer: They must report the shortfall to their licensee and create a remediation plan
Advisers who do not meet CPD requirements must report the shortfall to their licensee and take steps to remediate the gap.
Question 2: Which statement best describes 'unstructured CPD' under FASEA's framework?
- CPD with no defined learning outcomes that does not count toward the annual requirement
- Informal learning activities such as reading industry publications that can count toward CPD hours (Correct answer)
- CPD completed outside of Australia
- Any CPD not approved by ASIC
Correct answer: Informal learning activities such as reading industry publications that can count toward CPD hours
Unstructured CPD includes informal learning like reading relevant publications and can count toward the annual CPD requirement up to specified limits.
Question 3: A financial adviser switches licensees mid-year. Who is responsible for verifying and recording CPD hours completed with the previous licensee?
- The adviser must rely solely on personal records
- The new licensee takes on full responsibility for the entire year's CPD records
- The adviser must obtain CPD records from the previous licensee and provide them to the new licensee (Correct answer)
- ASIC automatically transfers CPD records between licensees
Correct answer: The adviser must obtain CPD records from the previous licensee and provide them to the new licensee
Advisers are responsible for obtaining their CPD records from a previous licensee and providing them to the new licensee.
Question 4: Under FASEA's CPD standards, which of the following best describes the purpose of the 'professionalism and ethics' CPD category?
- To ensure advisers understand tax legislation changes
- To develop advisers' understanding of ethical obligations and professional conduct (Correct answer)
- To train advisers in product research and analysis
- To improve advisers' technology and systems skills
Correct answer: To develop advisers' understanding of ethical obligations and professional conduct
The professionalism and ethics category is designed to reinforce ethical obligations, standards of conduct, and professional values.
Question 5: How many hours of CPD per year must relate to the 'professionalism and ethics' category under FASEA requirements?
- At least 5 hours (Correct answer)
- At least 9 hours
- At least 15 hours
- At least 20 hours
Correct answer: At least 5 hours
FASEA requires a minimum of 5 CPD hours per year in the professionalism and ethics category.
Question 6: An adviser attends a conference where some sessions are relevant to financial advice and others are not. How should CPD hours be recorded?
- All conference hours can be counted since attending the full conference demonstrates commitment
- Only the hours spent in sessions directly relevant to financial advice can be counted (Correct answer)
- No conference hours count unless the entire conference is financial-advice focused
- Conference hours are doubled for CPD purposes
Correct answer: Only the hours spent in sessions directly relevant to financial advice can be counted
Only sessions with content directly relevant to the provision of financial advice qualify as CPD hours.
Question 7: Which of the following is a key obligation of the licensee under FASEA's CPD framework?
- Completing CPD activities on behalf of advisers
- Maintaining a CPD policy and ensuring advisers meet their annual CPD requirements (Correct answer)
- Submitting individual CPD records to ASIC annually
- Setting CPD requirements higher than FASEA minimums for all advisers
Correct answer: Maintaining a CPD policy and ensuring advisers meet their annual CPD requirements
Licensees must maintain a CPD policy and take responsibility for ensuring that their authorised representatives meet FASEA CPD requirements.
FASEA Continuous Professional Development 3
Under FASEA CPD requirements, what must an adviser do if they fail to meet the minimum CPD hours in a given year?