Help fill adviser shortage via migration says FAAA
The Financial Advice Association of Australia (FAAA) wants the Government to move to include the financial planner professional year on the immigration points test to help alleviate the shortage of financial advisers.
The FAAA has told the Department of Home Affairs that “migration is a valid pathway” to help address the adviser skills test.
“We also suggest that the ‘points test’ should be amended to more appropriately reflect the mandatory education and training standards in the Corporations Act, which an individual must meet in order to secure a role as a financial adviser/planner,” the FAAA’s submission said.
The submission went on to say that while tertiary qualifications are well recognised in the Australian migration system, the financial adviser professional year is not picked up.
“Even though the professional year is a legislated requirement that must be completed to find a fulfilling job as a financial adviser/planner and generate successful labour market outcomes, it is not recognised in the points test,” the FAAA submission said.
“This disincentivises migrants from considering the occupation of financial adviser/planner as a future career in Australia, adding to the long training gap and skills shortage issues.
“This is reflected in data about applicants seeking assessment of their foreign qualifications against the Australian Qualification Framework, which indicates a downward trend in those interested in a career as a financial adviser/planner.”
The submission said the professional year also represents a substantial commitment by employers and that they required certainty that the individual involved had the ability to continue to work in Australia.
“The FAAA recommends the Work and Training Professional Year Standard for financial advisers/planners be allocated 5 points in the points test,” it said.
“This would greatly assist in attracting appropriately skilled migrants to choose the occupation of financial adviser/planner and facilitate successful labour market outcomes for migrants. The migration system should play a role in addressing this skills shortage to meet the financial needs of Australians in a culturally diverse and ageing population.”
The one and only cause of the so called “adviser shortage” is bad regulation. The one and only solution is to fix the bad regulation.This should be the one and only focus of FAAA.
Proposing solutions that divert from the real problem is a betrayal of FAAA members. Poposing solutions that exacerbate the housing crisis is a betrayal of all Australians struggling to find affordable housing.
There was an old woman who swallowed a fly….
If the government, ASIC and treasury weren’t such buffoons we wouldn’t need extraordinary measures to fix the problem they created. Let alone the stress, anxiety and in a fee cases suicide that was dealt to experienced advisers.
A simpler approach would be to remove all the useless BS compliance and arse covering activities to defend a possible kangaroo court claim in AFCA we would dramatically increase the number of clients an existing adviser can take on.
Why would a migrant want to pay the CLSR levy that they had nothing to do with? I still can’t get my head around advisers are being told they have to pay an ASIC supervisory levy and then for a failure of supervision by ASIC that EVERYONE knew was going on so now we have to pay for ASIC’s failures via CSLR!!
The keystone cop writers couldn’t come up with this material.
If government wants to help fix the profession they need to look at the single biggest problem. It’s in the nearest mirror.
Here is a novel idea, how about the FAAA focus on getting the government and regulators to get their foot off the throats of the current advisers. This should be the one and only focus, any other discussion is a band aid. Once the ongoing persecution of existing advisers finishes there will be a meaningful increase in advisers.
Dreaming!!!!
Whoever is a member of the FAAA & paying money to be betrayed by these idiots deserve the pain & stress your going through!!
Wake up don’t be members of these associations once and for all!!
If I had my way again would I be an adviser in Australia!!!!
No Freaking way!!!
FAAA really is quite pointless, another example of why I left….
How about advocating for your current Adviser members! This should be at the bottom of your advocacy list. An immigrant adviser sure would get a shock with the system we operate under.
Exactly what I would expect to hear from an association that only represents large instos.
Why are these guys focused on this when so many things need to be changed? Haven’t seen any lobbying about the GST credits on Advice Fees being removed. Being a member of the FAAA is no longer a sign of professionalism,…it’s now become the exact opposite. I won’t be renewing this year, membership gets you zip. 20 plus years of wasted dollars.
FAAA does not know how to play the political game. Simple