From 31 March 2015, ASIC has now published a comprehensive national register of financial advisers.

The register is intended to remove disreputable participants from the industry over time by:

1. Allowing consumers to check that their adviser is appropriately authorised and qualified before receiving personal advice;
2. Improving employers’ ability to assess new financial advisers;
3. Improving ASIC’s ability to identify and monitor all financial advisers.

The register of financial advisers will include:

• the adviser’s name, registration number, status, and experience;
• the adviser’s qualifications and professional association memberships;
• the adviser’s licensee, previous licensees/authorised representatives and business name;
• what product areas the adviser can provide advice on;
• any bans, disqualifications or enforceable undertakings; and
• details around ownership of the financial services licensee and disclosure of the ultimate parent company where applicable.

The explanatory statement for the  Corporations Amendment (Register of Relevant Providers) Regulation 2014 states:

‘The new register will be limited to those providing personal advice on more complex products to retail clients – focusing on the area where rogue advisers or ‘bad apples’ present the greatest risk to consumers.

The new register will build from the existing registers, and also contain information informing consumers of an adviser’s experience, their recent work history, the eventual owner of licensee they work on behalf, as well as information about whether ASIC has banned, disqualified or obtained enforceable undertakings in relation to them.

It is intended that the register will, in time, also contain educational qualifications and professional association membership information. This would require further amendments to the Principal Regulations’.

The Australian Bankers’ Association has welcomed the introduction of the register, commenting that ‘it will increase transparency, protection and confidence for consumers’.

The register is presently available here.