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Professional year

If you are training to become a relevant provider (including provisional relevant providers), you must complete a professional year before you can be fully qualified. Generally, the professional year requirements do not apply to relevant providers who are existing providers. For more information on who needs to complete a professional year, see Applying the professional standards.

The professional year is also referred to as a 鈥榶ear of work and training鈥� and is one year full time, equivalent to 1,600 hours. At least 100 of these hours must be structured training. There is no time limit for completing the professional year 鈥� you can take as long as you need.

You will need to engage with your supervisor and Australian financial services (AFS) licensee to establish a professional year plan. The sets out the requirements that apply to the professional year, including the requirements for supervisors and AFS licensees.

You can have more than one supervisor during your professional year. However, each supervisor must meet the professional year supervisor requirements. It is recommended that one of the supervisors acts as the 鈥榩rimary鈥� supervisor and is accountable for the professional year plan and progress.

Progress through the professional year

The professional year is split into quarters so that you can transition from a directly supervised approach to an indirectly supervised approach:聽

• The first quarter involves client observations under a supporting supervisor and experienced advisers.聽
• The second quarter involves supervised client engagement and advice preparation.聽
• The third and fourth quarters involve indirect supervision of client engagement and advice preparation.聽

You can begin the third quarter of your professional year and call yourself a 鈥榩rovisional relevant provider鈥� once you:

• have completed an approved degree or equivalent qualification
• have passed the financial adviser exam
• have completed the first and second quarters of the professional year, and
• are authorised by an AFS licensee to provide personal advice on relevant financial products to retail clients.

Structured training聽

The professional year standard requires the completion of 100 hours of structured training.聽

Structured training may include formal study undertaken during the professional year (for example, completing the Ethics for Professional Advisers bridging unit).鈥� Other relevant study might include education to:聽

• achieve a professional designation
• receive accreditation in specific forms of financial products relevant to licensing arrangements, and/or
• fulfill more detailed requirements for providing specific financial advice (for example, self-managed superannuation funds, stockbroking, aged care).

Structured training should be made up of education that is measurable, assessed and leads to further qualification (formal and informal) outcomes for participants.聽

Acceleration in the professional year聽

Your AFS licensee may accelerate your training to become a relevant provider during the first or second quarter (or both quarters) of the professional year if the supervisor is satisfied that you:

• have achieved the outcomes set out in the professional year plan for that quarter, and
• are capable of satisfactorily completing the work activities and structured training for the next quarter.

The third and fourth quarters cannot be accelerated. Even with an accelerated pathway, a full 1,600 hours of work and training over a 12-month period is required to complete the professional year.聽

Accelerating the first or second quarter may allow you to progress to the status of 鈥榩rovisional relevant provider鈥� earlier (subject to meeting all requirements and your AFS licensee鈥檚 approval).

Record keeping聽

AFS licensees can determine how to maintain record keeping of professional year, including developing templates and systems if required.聽

Requirement to notify ob体育

AFS licensees are not required to notify ob体育 when a person training to become a relevant provider starts their professional year. However, once the person is authorised as a 鈥榩rovisional relevant provider鈥� to provide personal advice on relevant financial products to retail clients on behalf of an AFS licensee, the AFS licensee must provide the following details to ob体育 as part of the appointment process:

• the date the person started the professional year, and
• whether the person was accelerated during the first and/or second quarters of the professional year.

The AFS licensee should provide this information to ob体育 when聽appointing聽the provisional relevant provider to the聽Financial Advisers Register聽using ob体育鈥檚 online services.

AFS licensees must also notify ob体育 within 30 business days of when the provisional relevant provider has completed their professional year and a final completion certificate has been issued by聽updating聽the individual鈥檚 role on the聽Financial Advisers Register聽from 鈥榩rovisional relevant provider鈥� to 鈥榬elevant provider鈥� using ob体育鈥檚 online services.