Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) is a Commonwealth entity that was established in April 2017 to set standards for the ethical conduct, educational qualifications and ongoing training of licensed financial advisers in Australia. FASEA’s powers and responsibilities are set out under the Corporations Act 2001 (the Act).

Under the Act, FASEA is responsible for:

• setting a Code of Ethics that all advisers must comply with in providing advice to consumers about financial products or services;
• approving university Bachelor or higher-level degrees or equivalent qualifications to ensure all advisers meet minimum knowledge and training requirements set by FASEA to advise consumers on financial products and services;
• approving foreign qualifications to ensure advisers qualified, or who trained overseas, and who provide advice to consumers in Australia, meet FASEA standards;
• approving an exam to ensure all advisers meet subject matter knowledge and skills requirements set by FASEA;
• selecting an appropriate common term for provisional relevant providers who are undertaking at least one year of work and training;
• setting standards for the future education and training (continuous professional development (CPD)) requirements that advisers must complete each year so their knowledge remains current and they can retain their authorisation to advise consumers about financial products and services; and
• determining the requirements for the professional year.