The Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA) has backed the government’s proposed changes to the financial adviser exam, including making the exam completely multiple choice, removing restrictions on who can sit the exam, and allowing students to sit the exam at a stage that is suitable for them.

FAAA chief executive officer, Sarah Abood, said these changes will simplify and speed up the exam process, making it both more flexible and potentially much cheaper for candidates.

“The FAAA is in favour of wholly multiple-choice examinations. Moving to this format rapidly speeds up the process of marking the exams and ensures consistency of assessment without lowering standards,” Ms Abood said.

“Without a need for subjective marking of written answers, the marking process can be largely automated, removing the risk of human error and subjectivity and speeding up the provision of results to students.

“This method of assessment is also cheaper to run, and we would expect to see a reduction in the cost of the exam as a result. The cost is now $1500 per attempt, almost three times higher than it was when the exam was first introduced in 2019.”

Ms Abood said the change to allow financial planning students to sit the exam when it suits their schedule - including during their studies, rather than at a specific stage during the Professional Year - will have substantial benefits for new entrants.

“Exam infrequency and the time taken to receive results has meant the professional year could stretch well beyond 12 months for some students. This increased flexibility is very welcome and should reduce unnecessary delays for new entrants in starting their careers.

“The proposed changes will also effectively allow anyone who wishes to do so to take the exam. This is a strongly positive move as there are many participants in financial services who have an interest in the content and in demonstrating mastery in this area – such as compliance staff and responsible managers, just to name a few.

“The FAAA is strongly supportive of these changes, which we hope will encourage more people to attempt the financial adviser exam and enter the advice profession,” Ms Abood said.