Financial Adviser Exam Syllabus: The Three Areas and the Reading List

7 min read · facts checked 12 Oct 2026

As at 12 October 2026, ASIC's Exam preparation guidance (version 6.0, September 2026) says the exam tests three competency areas: financial advice regulatory and legal obligations; applied ethical and professional reasoning and communication; and financial advice construction. ASIC's exam policy says the questions are split equally across them.

1. Financial advice regulatory and legal obligations

The legal requirements advisers use day to day when giving personal advice to retail clients: the Corporations Act (mainly Chapter 7), the AML/CTF Act 2006, the Privacy Act 1988 and subdivision 50-AA of the Tax Agent Services Act 2009. ASIC lists nine learning outcomes, including:

• applying Chapter 7 to scenarios and to advice documents, and spotting breaches of disclosure and other obligations, including notification duties
• knowing the legal requirements on both the adviser and the licensee
• applying the AML/CTF and Privacy Act requirements to scenarios
• knowing the civil penalty provisions for tax (financial) advice services in subdivision 50-AA of the TASA.

2. Applied ethical and professional reasoning and communication

The Code of Ethics and ethical frameworks applied to client scenarios and dilemmas. The Code sets five values (trustworthiness, competence, honesty, fairness and diligence) and 12 standards. ASIC lists 13 learning outcomes, including:

• applying the Code to dilemmas and identifying compliance, non-compliance and the consequences
• spotting conduct that is legal under the Corporations Act but breaches the Code
• applying more than one ethical framework to the same dilemma
• applying the best interests duty, and knowing when to refer a client
• identifying biases in your own and clients' decision making
• meeting the legal requirements for client files, and what due diligence means in practice.

3. Financial advice construction

This area brings the others together: whether advice suits different consumer groups, and how behaviour shapes decisions. ASIC lists seven learning outcomes, including identifying misconduct and inappropriate advice and why it is inappropriate, finding a better alternative, comparing client profiles, evaluating strategies for different retail clients, and understanding risk and risk tolerance.

Reading list highlights

ASIC says you are not expected to memorise the listed material, but you should understand it and how it applies to advice. Statutory content is supplied with the questions. The suggested reading includes:

Extension reading, for those who want more, includes the AML/CTF Act and Rules, the TASA, the Hayne Royal Commission final report and the Hayne Response No. 2 Act 2021, plus several textbooks and research articles.

Turning the syllabus into practice

Our syllabus page maps our practice topics to the three areas, and the study notes summarise them. When you are ready, test yourself with the practice questions, and see the format guide for how the areas appear in the exam.