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Financial adviser exam cheat sheet (2026)

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The most exam-relevant facts for the ASIC financial adviser exam on one scannable page, organised by topic. Every figure carries its source and the date it applies from. Indexed thresholds change, most on 1 July: check the date against your sitting.

Adviser Exam Prep is an independent study aid for candidates sitting the financial adviser exam. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the exam's administrator or any AFS licensee. "ASIC" is used only to describe the exam. All questions are original practice material, not past or live exam questions, and nothing on this site is financial advice.

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The exam at a glance

The ASIC financial adviser exam


Format	At least 70 multiple-choice questions, three equally weighted areas, mostly client scenarios
Duration	3 hours 30 min, including 15 minutes' reading time
Pass mark	Set by ASIC each sitting (overall credit grade, 65–74%); pass or fail only
Delivery	Online, remote-proctored (ProctorU), no calculator

As at 12 Oct 2026, per the Corporations (Relevant Providers—Education and Training Standards) Determination 2021 and ASIC's exam guidance. ASIC can change the format: check before you sit.

Licensing, registration and professional standards

Who may give personal advice to retail clients, what a licensee must check before authorising them, and the education, exam, professional year and CPD standards that apply to relevant providers.

Key facts to remember

A relevant provider is an individual authorised to give personal advice to retail clients about relevant financial products.
Before authorisation the qualifications and exam standards must be met; only the professional year may still be in progress (s921C).
A provisional relevant provider must not use 'financial adviser' or 'financial planner' (s923C(1)(c)(ii)).
The exam must be passed before quarter 3 of the professional year starts (PY Determination s12(2)).
A professional year supervisor needs at least 2 years' experience as a relevant provider, not counting their own professional year (PY Determination s8(1)).
CPD: 9 hours of professionalism and ethics, and 5 hours each in three other areas (CPD Determination s9(2)).
At least 70% of minimum CPD hours must be licensee-approved; reading counts for at most 4 hours (s9(3)-(4)).
A licensee must notify ASIC within 30 business days of authorising a representative (s916F(1)).
Registration in relation to a licensee ends when that licensee stops authorising the relevant provider (s921ZE(b)(iii)).

Advice and disclosure: FSG, SOA, PDS and warnings

The retail/wholesale line, the difference between general and personal advice, and the disclosure documents and warnings that go with each.

Key facts to remember

Superannuation products are always retail (s761G(6)).
Wholesale tests include a product value of $500,000 or more, or an accountant's certificate: net assets of $2.5m or gross income of $250,000 in each of the last 2 years.
For advice and disclosure purposes an accountant's certificate is valid for 2 years (reg 7.6.02AF).
An FSG must be given before the service is provided, subject to exceptions (s941D); it may consist of two or more documents given at the same time (s942D).
A general advice warning must be given at the same time and by the same means as the advice (s949A(3)).
No SOA is needed for small investment advice up to $15,000 (s946AA; reg 7.7.09A), but not for derivatives, general insurance or life risk insurance.
A Record of Advice can replace an SOA for further advice where the client's relevant circumstances and the basis of advice have not significantly changed (s946B).
An SOA recommending a product switch must disclose costs, lost benefits and other significant consequences (s947D).
Cooling-off is 14 days and ends early once the client exercises a right under the product (s1019B).

Best interests duty and remuneration rules

The Part 7.7A duties (best interests, appropriate advice, warnings, priority to the client) and the bans and caps on conflicted remuneration and ongoing fees.

Key facts to remember

s961B: act in the best interests of the client; s961B(2) is a safe harbour of seven steps, including declining to advise without the expertise (s961B(2)(d)).
s961G: the advice must be appropriate; s961H: warn if advice is based on incomplete or inaccurate information; s961J: give priority to the client's interests when there is a conflict.
Conflicted remuneration is a benefit that could reasonably be expected to influence the product recommended or the advice given (s963A); licensees and representatives must not accept it (ss963E, 963G).
Life risk commissions: up to 60% of first-year policy cost on issue and 20% trailing; clawback 100% in year one and 60% in year two (Instrument 2017/510).
Platform operators must not accept volume-based shelf-space fees (s964A); asset-based fees must not be charged on borrowed amounts (s964D).
Ongoing fee arrangements need written, signed and dated consent (s962G); a new consent is due between 60 days before and 150 days after the reference day, or the arrangement terminates (ss962H, 962F).
The client may terminate an ongoing fee arrangement at any time (s962J).

Conduct, breach reporting and complaints

General licensee obligations, breach reporting to ASIC, dispute resolution through IDR and AFCA, design and distribution obligations, hawking and misconduct offences.

Key facts to remember

A licensee serving retail clients needs a dispute resolution system: an IDR procedure meeting ASIC's standards, covering all its licensed services, and AFCA membership (s912A(1)(g), (2)).
RG 271 sets IDR maximums: 30 calendar days for standard complaints; 45 for superannuation trustee complaints (other than death benefits).
A reportable situation must be reported to ASIC within 30 days after the licensee first knows, or is reckless about, reasonable grounds to believe it has arisen (s912DAA(3)).
Fixing or compensating a breach does not remove the duty to report it.
Licensees must also report serious compliance concerns about individual advisers of other licensees (s912DAB).
Personal advice is 'excluded conduct' under the design and distribution obligations (s994A); issuers must review target market determinations (s994C).
Offers to retail clients in the course of, or because of, unsolicited contact are banned as hawking, whatever the channel (s992A).

AML/CTF, privacy and tax (financial) advice

The AML/CTF reporting obligations that reach advisers, the Australian Privacy Principles in an advice practice, and the rules for giving tax (financial) advice.

Key facts to remember

Threshold transactions involve physical currency of $10,000 or more and must be reported within 10 business days (AML/CTF Act ss5, 43).
Suspicious matter reports: 24 hours for terrorism financing suspicions; generally 3 business days otherwise (s41(2)).
Tipping off is an offence where disclosure would or could reasonably be expected to prejudice an investigation (s123).
Health information is sensitive information (Privacy Act s6) and generally needs consent to collect (APP 3).
Only eligible data breaches, likely to cause serious harm, must be notified (s26WE).
Before sending personal information overseas, an APP entity must take reasonable steps (APP 8.1) and remains accountable (s16C).
Organisations cannot charge for making an access request; any charge for giving access must not be excessive (APP 12.8).
A tax (financial) advice service may only be given by a qualified tax relevant provider or a registered tax agent.

Code of Ethics: values and ethical behaviour (Standards 1-3)

The five values that sit above every standard, and the ethical behaviour standards: obey the law and its intent, act with integrity in each client's best interests, and do not act with a conflict.

Key facts to remember

All relevant providers must comply with the Code (Corporations Act s921E).
Five values: trustworthiness, competence, honesty, fairness, diligence. They are paramount: every other provision must be read to promote them.
The Code imposes ethical duties that go above the requirements in the law.
Standard 1: act in accordance with all applicable laws, including the Code, and do not try to avoid or circumvent their intent.
Standard 2: act with integrity and in the best interests of each client.
Standard 3: do not advise, refer or act in any other manner where you have a conflict of interest or duty. It has no disclosure-and-consent exception.
'Benefits' include monetary and non-monetary benefits but not any fixed component of remuneration; bonuses are benefits.
Provisions must not be read down by reference to other provisions unless the Code expressly says so (cl 4(2)).

Code of Ethics: client care and quality process (Standards 4-9)

Consent to act, best interests and understanding, broad long-term effects, consent to fees and benefits and value for money, complete and accurate records, and good-faith, competent advice.

Key facts to remember

Standard 4: act for a client only with free, prior and informed consent.
Standard 5: advice must be in the client's best interests and appropriate to their circumstances.
Standard 5 also needs reasonable grounds to be satisfied the client understands the advice and the products' benefits, costs and risks.
Standard 6: take into account the broad effects of the client acting on the advice and actively consider their broader, long-term interests and likely circumstances.
Standard 7: free, prior and informed consent to all benefits you and your principal receive; fees must be fair, reasonable and value for money.
Standard 7 bars third-party benefits (other than from the principal) unless the Corporations Act expressly permits them.
Standard 8: records of clients, including former clients, must be complete and accurate.
Standard 9: all advice and products must be offered in good faith and with competence and be neither misleading nor deceptive.

Professional commitment and ethical frameworks

Standards 10-12 (knowledge and skills, cooperation with ASIC and monitoring bodies, upholding the profession) and the ethical decision-making frameworks on ASIC's reading list.

Key facts to remember

Standard 10: develop, maintain and apply a high level of relevant knowledge and skills; minimum CPD hours alone may not be enough.
Standard 11: cooperate with ASIC and monitoring bodies in any investigation of a breach or potential breach of the Code.
Standard 12: individually and with peers, uphold the profession's ethical standards and hold each other accountable for protecting the public interest.
Standard 12 applies to all relevant providers, not only association members.
The Code contrasts the market ethos (pursuing self-interest by satisfying others' wants) with the professional ethos (subordinating self-interest to serve others).
Professions receive privileges in return for renouncing the pursuit of self-interest.
Markkula lenses: rights, justice, utilitarian, common good, virtue, care.
In professional year quarters 3 and 4 the candidate must identify and resolve ethical dilemmas (PY Determination s12(3)(c)).

Best interests in practice: applying the law and the Code together

How the statutory best interests obligations and Standards 2, 5, 6 and 7 combine in real advice situations: scope, inquiries, switching, insurance and fees.

Key facts to remember

The law (s961B, s961G) and the Code (Standards 2, 5 and 6) both apply; meeting the safe harbour is not the end of the analysis.
Scope can be limited, but the adviser must consider whether the limited scope is appropriate and in the client's best interests (RG 244).
Inquiries scale with the complexity of the client's circumstances (RG 244.71-244.72).
A switch must leave the client better off; the SOA must disclose lost benefits and costs (s947D).
If the client gives incomplete information, warn them under s961H; do not fill gaps by assumption.
Standard 7 requires value for money even where the client has consented to the fee.

Adviser biases and professional judgement

The cognitive and emotional biases that affect advisers as well as clients, and why disclosure alone often fails to protect consumers.

Key facts to remember

Overconfidence: overestimating knowledge, ability or precision; linked to excessive trading.
Confirmation bias: seeking information that supports an existing view and discounting what contradicts it.
Anchoring: relying too heavily on an initial reference point such as a purchase price.
Availability: judging likelihood by how easily examples come to mind.
Framing: the same information presented differently leads to different choices.
Herding: following the crowd rather than one's own analysis; regret aversion can cause inaction.
REP 632 found disclosure and warnings can be ineffective and can even backfire.

Consumer behaviour and decision making

How clients actually make financial decisions: loss aversion, present bias, mental accounting, defaults and choice overload, and what that means for advice.

Key facts to remember

Loss aversion: losses feel stronger than equivalent gains; the disposition effect is selling winners too early and holding losers too long.
Present bias: overweighting the present, which can delay saving for retirement.
Mental accounting: treating money differently by its source or intended use.
Defaults strongly shape choices because many people do not actively choose.
The house money effect: taking more risk with gains or windfalls.
More disclosure does not reliably improve decisions (REP 632).

Client profiles, life stages and risk

Building a client profile: objectives, financial situation and needs, risk tolerance versus risk capacity, life-cycle stage, sequencing risk and Centrelink basics.

Key facts to remember

Risk tolerance is willingness to accept volatility; risk capacity is the financial ability to absorb losses without harming goals.
A risk questionnaire is one input; s961B(2)(c) requires reasonable inquiries into the client's relevant circumstances.
Sequencing risk is greatest in the years just before and after retirement.
Life-cycle stages help anticipate needs but do not determine asset allocation on their own.
Age Pension age is 67; the income test and assets test both apply and the lower rate is paid.
Women in Australia retire with lower super balances on average, partly because of career breaks and part-time work.

Scaled advice and advice documents

How to scope advice under RG 244, scale the fact-find, explain what is not covered, and prepare compliant SOAs and ROAs.

Key facts to remember

All advice is scaled to some extent; scaled advice is held to the same best interests standard (RG 244).
You can give scaled advice to new, existing and potential clients, and on one issue even if authorised for many (RG 244.60).
Inquiries can be limited or expanded according to the subject matter and complexity (RG 244.71-244.72).
You need not list every topic not covered, but must explain relevant topics within the subject matter that are not covered (RG 244.90).
The same rules apply however advice is delivered: online, phone or face to face (RG 244.94-244.95).
The title 'Statement of Advice' must appear on the cover or at or near the front (s947A); a replacement recommendation needs s947D disclosure.

Superannuation and retirement strategies (2026-27)

Contribution caps, bring-forward, downsizer, transfer balance cap, conditions of release, TTR and pension drawdowns, with 2026-27 figures.

Key facts to remember

Concessional cap $32,500 and non-concessional cap $130,000 for 2026-27.
Bring-forward (under 75): TSB under $1.84m gives $390,000 over 3 years; $1.84m to under $1.97m gives $260,000 over 2 years; $1.97m to under $2.1m gives $130,000 only; $2.1m or more gives nil.
General transfer balance cap $2.1m for 2026-27.
Super guarantee 12% from 1 July 2025; Payday Super from 1 July 2026.
Division 293 threshold $250,000; excess concessional contributions are taxed at marginal rates with a 15% offset (no ECC charge since 1 July 2021).
Downsizer: age 55+, up to $300,000 each, home owned 10+ years, outside the caps.
Preservation age is 60 for anyone born from 1 July 1964; turning 65 is a condition of release even if still working.
Minimum pension drawdowns: under 65 4%, 65-74 5%, 75-79 6%, 80-84 7%, 85-89 9%, 90-94 11%, 95+ 14%.

Investment, debt and insurance strategies

Diversification, gearing and margin lending, CGT basics, and life, TPD, trauma and income protection cover inside and outside super.

Key facts to remember

Diversification reduces company-specific risk but not market risk.
Gearing magnifies gains and losses; a margin lending facility must be assessed for unsuitability before it is issued or its limit increased (ss985E-985H).
Asset-based fees must not be charged on borrowed amounts (s964D).
Individuals get a 50% CGT discount on assets held at least 12 months (ITAA 1997 Div 115).
Income protection premiums paid personally outside super are generally deductible; life, TPD and trauma premiums held personally generally are not.
Disability cover issued inside super since 1 July 2014 must align with the permanent incapacity condition of release, so 'own occupation' TPD is generally not available inside super.
Exchange-traded funds trade on market; unlisted funds can have redemption delays or freezes.

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