Register of financial advisers to be established

The Government has announced (Press Release of Senator Cormann dated 24 October 2014) that it will establish a public register of licensed financial advisers.  The register will be searchable via the internet, when established.  The register will be maintained by ASIC.

The Register will contain the following details of each licensed financial adviser:

• name, registration number, status and experience;
• qualifications and professional memberships;
• the current licensee and previous licensees;
• business name;
• types and scope of the authorisations granted by ASIC;
• details of any bans or disqualifications imposed;
• details of any enforceable undertakings given by the adviser; and
• details of the ownership of the adviser’s licensee and the ultimate parent company.

If all goes well, the register will be up and searchable by March 2015.  

In order to fund the register, the annual registration fee of licensed advisers will be increased by $5; increasing the current registration fee of $39 to $44.