CPD Policy for AFSL

Continuing Professional Development Policy for AFSL

It is essential all our advisers identified as a ‘relevant provider’ must satisfy The Corporations Act 2017 (the Act) in meeting the professional development standards set by the Standards Body (s 921B(5)). This standard identifies the obligations required for our advisers to adequately complete their professional development in accordance to the Code of Ethics which ensures our advisers maintain a high level of applicable knowledge and skills. However these rules will only apply to our relevant providers where provisional relevant providers are exempt to meeting these CPD requirements (s 921D (2) (a)).

Our CPD Policy at Roach & Bruce Consulting Pty Ltd is divided into key fundamental sections:

  1. Responsibilities for CPD
  2. CPD Requirements

1. Responsibilities

Relevant Providers

Our advisers must continue to grow as relevant providers by maintaining their professional competence through undertaking a series of activities.

Key responsibilities:

  • Develop a sufficient plan that adequately details a CPD plan on a continuing basis as well as addressing areas of improvement and potential methods to ensure improvement takes place;
  • Complete a minimum of 40 hours’ worth of CPD qualified activities and for part time workers with written consent must do a minimum of 36 hours. In both instances 70% of activities must be approved by the licensee;
  • Maintain continuous records of CPD activity for up to 7 years from the date the CPD activity took place;
  • Provide records to the licensee to ensure the licensee can complete their own CPD requirements.

In the event our adviser has a career break they will be required to meet the educational qualification requirements as well as undertake appropriate CPD measures to ensure their skills and knowledge are upheld when the break occurs for greater than 2 years.

Financial service licensee

It is essential our financial service licensee acts as an authority figure and overlooks the relevant provider’s knowledge and determines if their skills are up to date. Our financial service licensee is also required to maintain and publish a CPD policy that adheres to the following:

  • Overall approach to CPD;
  • Process for approving CPD activities and the mechanism for allocating hours to these;
  • Approach to any CPD plans created for relevant providers;
  • Process for ensuring CPD activities are provided by persons and/or entities that are appropriate (with accredited standing, expertise and academic qualifications and practical expertise as appropriate);
  • Approach for those affected by extenuating circumstances such as medical, disability or parental leave;
  • Approach for existing relevant providers moving licensee;
  • Approach for relevant providers who have recently completed their professional year;
  • Approach for relevant providers working part-time;
  • Approach to evidencing outcomes of CPD;
  • Approach to record keeping; and
  • Approach to auditing compliance with the policy.

2. CPD Requirements

Hourly Requirements

The 40 hour CPD system encourages our advisers to equip themselves with an array of professional skills through undertaking a number of educational activities

Categories

  • Technical competence: acting as a technically proficient professional
  • Client care and practice: acting as a client centric practitioner
  • Regulatory compliance and consumer protection: acting as a legally compliant practitioner
  • Professionalism and ethics: acting as an ethical profession;
CPD Category Minimum CPD Hours Per Year 
1. Technical Competence 5 
2. Client Care and Practice 5 
3. Regulatory Compliance and Consumer Protection 5 
4. Professionalism and Ethics 9 

CPD Plan

To support our adviser’s outcomes and relevance of CPD activities, a relevant CPD policy must be in effect which highlights key areas where additional technical requirements may be focused towards.

Types

Relevant training activities that satisfy CPD required hours:

  • Formal relevant education from an education provider where study towards a certain qualification or degree can be included as CPD up to a maximum of 30 hours;
  • Education with the purpose of achieving a relevant professional designation;
  • Education with the purpose of achieving provisional financial advice;
  • Education with the purpose of accreditation for certain licensing arrangements;
  • Other: As per licensee approval: workshops/conferences and technical reading up to 4 hours maximum.

CPD Approval

While the FASEA doesn’t directly approve or decline CPD it acts as the statutory board that provides guidelines for Roach & Bruce Consulting Pty Ltd to ensure consistency is maintained. In assessing consistency our licensee must consider the following:

  • Expertise of CPD provider;
  • Expertise of those delivering/providing the CPD;
  • Level of learning of undertaken;
  • Amount of time undertaken in CPD activity;
  • Measures used for the verification of certain learning outcomes being satisfied;
  • Learning outcomes sought to be achieved prior to the activity commencing.

Transitioning

The following are the requirements our licensee must adhere to in the transitioning year:

  • Licensee CPD Policy must be published prior to 31 March 2019;
  • CPD Plans must be conducted and approved prior to 31 March 2019;
  • CPD hours occur on a yearly basis from when the CPD is commenced.

CPD is an integral component for Roach & Bruce Consulting Pty Ltd as adherence to CPD enables our advisers to strengthen their knowledge as professionals and significantly enhance their technical abilities to grow as relevant providers.