FAE · ASIC Financial Adviser Exam
Lesson 3 of 3 in AML/CTF, privacy and tax (financial) advice
What makes advice a tax (financial) advice service, who may give it for a fee since the 2022 move into the Corporations Act, the two Subdivision 50-AA civil penalties and the 1 October 2026 changes around them, and where the line falls between tax (financial) advice and tax agent work such as lodging returns.
Financial advice regulatory and legal obligations9 min read9 sections
Checked against: Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (Cth), compilation No. 27 (1 Oct 2026): ss30-5, 30-10, 30-15, 50-5, 50-10, 50-15, 50-17, 50-18, 50-20, 50-35, 51-5, 51-15, 52-5, 90-1, 90-5, 90-15, endnotes 3-4 (Better Advice Act 2021, No. 115 of 2021, Sch 1 items 106-141 commenced 1 Jan 2022; Treasury Laws Amendment (Strengthening Accountability for Tax Adviser Misconduct and Other Measures) Act 2026, No. 86 of 2026, Sch 1 commenced 1 Oct 2026, adding Divisions 51 and 52); Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), compilation No. 149 (19 Sep 2026): ss910A (qualified tax relevant provider), 921BB, 921E, 921F(3)-(5), 921R, 921ZA(2)(b)(v), 921ZB(2)(b)(vi); Corporations (Relevant Providers—Education and Training Standards) Determination 2021, compilation No. 2 (30 May 2024; confirmed current on legislation.gov.au, 25 Oct 2026): ss3-65, 3-70, 3-125, 3-170; ASIC INFO 268, Relevant providers who provide tax (financial) advice services (updated Jan 2026); ASIC, Financial adviser exam: Exam preparation guidance v6.0 (Sept 2026), curriculum and reading list items 7-8. The TPB website did not load for verification on 25 Oct 2026, so TPB(I) 20/2014 is not relied on.. Independent prep, not endorsed by ASIC.
ASIC's curriculum asks candidates to 'demonstrate knowledge of the civil penalty provisions for the provision of tax (financial) advice services in subdivision 50-AA of the TASA' (Exam preparation guidance v6.0, Sept 2026). Reading list item 7 names TPB Information Sheet 20/2014, What is a tax (financial) advice service?, and item 8 names ASIC INFO 268; the TASA is extension reading.
Scenario questions ask whether a piece of advice is a tax (financial) advice service, whether the person giving it is allowed to, and what follows if not: which provision, which regulator, what maximum. Our practice questions drill those three decisions. Tax rates and thresholds in a scenario are given facts, never the point.
A tax agent service is any service that relates to working out or advising on liabilities, obligations or entitlements under a taxation law, or to representing someone in dealings with the Commissioner, where the client can reasonably be expected to rely on it to meet obligations or claim entitlements (s90-5). A tax (financial) advice service is the slice of that given by an AFS licensee or its representative in the course of advice usually given by licensees (s90-15(1)). It excludes representation before the Commissioner, and s90-15(3)(a) excludes preparing a return.
| Service | Examples in an advice file | Who may provide it for a fee |
|---|---|---|
| Tax (financial) advice service (s90-15) | The tax saved by salary sacrifice; the tax treatment of a recommended product; whether a contribution is deductible | A registered tax agent or qualified tax relevant provider (s50-17) |
| Other tax agent service (s90-5) | Preparing or lodging a return; objecting or dealing with the ATO for the client |
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Case study FAE-C73, question 3 of 4: Adam's tax comments. Adam, 25, is a provisional relevant provider in quarter 3 of his professional year at Riverbend Financial, an AFS licensee in Brisbane that charges clients a fee for advice. He is not a registered tax agent and has not yet completed the tax courses needed to give tax (financial) advice. His client, Joanne, 48, is a nurse unit manager earning A$118,000 a year. She is married to Pete, 50, a self-employed electrician, and they have two teenage children. Her super balance is A$260,000 in a balanced option, and her employer contributes 12% (A$14,160 a year). The couple owe A$310,000 on their home and want Joanne to retire at 62. Joanne asks Adam whether making a personal deductible super contribution of A$10,000 would reduce her income tax this year. Adam's draft SOA includes a section explaining the deduction, her marginal tax rate and the tax she would save. Adam's supervisor, Fiona, is a qualified tax relevant provider with 14 years' experience. Fiona is busy with year-end work and tells Adam to 'send it out if it looks right to you'. Standard 10 of the Code says: 'You must develop, maintain and apply a high level of relevant knowledge and skills.' Adam wants to keep including tax analysis in his SOAs after his professional year, when Fiona will no longer supervise him. Which plan BEST meets Standard 10 and the TASA?
| A registered tax agent only (s50-5(1)) |
| BAS service (s90-10) | Preparing a business activity statement | A registered tax agent or BAS agent (s50-5(2)) |
Two features matter in scenarios. First, the reliance test: tax content the client can reasonably be expected to rely on to meet obligations or claim entitlements is caught, so it does not escape by being called 'general information' inside a personal advice SOA. Second, s50-17 applies only where a fee or other reward is charged or received, so free help is outside it.
Answer: A. Completing the required tax courses so he becomes a qualified tax relevant provider
Answer: Completing the required tax courses so he becomes a qualified tax relevant provider. After his professional year his advice is his own, and s50-17 penalises fee-paid tax (financial) advice unless he is a registered tax agent or a qualified tax relevant provider, so meeting the s921BB requirements satisfies both the TASA and Standard 10.Why not the others:• Having Fiona, a qualified tax relevant provider…: her sign-off matters now because s921F(5) treats his advice as hers, but that deeming ends with his professional year, and a review does not make Adam qualified.• Registering as a BAS agent with the Tax Practitioners Board…: BAS agent registration covers BAS services, which s50-17(b) carves out, so it is not a qualification for tax (financial) advice.• Doing his yearly CPD hours in tax…: tax CPD keeps knowledge current, but it does not replace the qualifying courses.Rule: Standard 10 requires relevant providers to develop, maintain and apply a high level of relevant knowledge and skills; for fee-paid tax (financial) advice, that means meeting the qualified tax relevant provider requirements.Source: Financial Planners and Advisers Code of Ethics 2019 (F2019L00117), Standard 10; Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (Cth) s50-17 (compilation No. 27, 1 Oct 2026); Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) ss910A, 921BB, 921F (compilation No. 149, 19 Sep 2026)
Case study FAE-C175, question 4 of 6: Leanne's café sale and Ridgeline's tax advice. Ridgeline Advice Pty Ltd is an AFS licensee in Hobart. It is not a registered tax agent, and it charges a fixed fee of A$4,400 for each SOA. Advisers Anika Rao, 44: relevant provider authorised by Ridgeline Advice Pty Ltd; a qualified tax relevant provider through the required tax courses; not a registered tax agent; has never advised on the small business CGT concessions Ben Kowalski, 31: relevant provider authorised by Ridgeline Advice Pty Ltd; has not completed the tax courses; not a registered tax agent Client fact find Client: Leanne Bishop, 57, married to Craig, 60, who is retired Work: owns and runs a café in Launceston as a sole trader; net profit about A$95,000 a year Super: Leanne A$210,000; Craig A$340,000 Home: A$780,000, no mortgage Business: expects to sell the café for about A$450,000 in mid-2027 Accountant: Gavin Lowe, a registered tax agent, prepares her tax return and quarterly BAS Risk profile: balanced Goal: retire on the sale and move as much as sensible into super Also asked: whether Ridgeline could take over her quarterly BAS, as Gavin 'charges too much' Because Anika is busy, the practice manager gives Leanne's SOA to Ben. His draft covers the tax Leanne would save by making a A$20,000 personal deductible super contribution this year, and whether the café sale could qualify for the small business CGT concessions. The practice manager says any TASA problem would be 'Ben's alone'. The Code's value of fairness requires you 'to self-reflect on the limits of your professional competency'. If Anika advises Leanne, the CGT concessions question remains, and she has never worked with those concessions. Her BEST approach to that question is to…
Answer: C. work with Gavin or another registered tax agent on the CGT analysis
Answer: work with Gavin or another registered tax agent on the CGT analysis. Recognising the limits of her competence, Anika can supplement it with sound tax input on the complex small business CGT concessions while advising on the super strategy herself.Why not the others:• advise on the concessions herself: her tax qualification covers any tax (financial) advice: as a qualified tax relevant provider she may lawfully give tax (financial) advice for a fee (s50-17), but legal permission is not competence in every area.• decline the whole engagement: only a registered tax agent may advise on CGT: this overreacts, because CGT advice tied to Leanne's super strategy can be tax (financial) advice she is allowed to give.• advise on the concessions herself, noting in the SOA that the CGT figures are estimates: labelling figures as estimates is a disclaimer and does not supply the missing expertise.Rule: The value of fairness requires advisers to self-reflect on the limits of their competency, and the value of competence notes that expertise can be supplemented by others while the duty of competence stays personal.Source: Financial Planners and Advisers Code of Ethics 2019 (F2019L00117), values of fairness and competence; Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (Cth) s50-17 (compilation No. 27, 1 Oct 2026)
Case study FAE-C14, question 4 of 4: Mei's salary-sacrifice advice. Mei Tanaka is a relevant provider at Northgate Wealth, an AFS licensee in Adelaide. She has passed the exam, holds an approved degree and has completed the tax law courses and tax CPD that the Minister's determination requires of relevant providers who give tax (financial) advice. She is not a registered tax agent. Northgate charges every client a fee for advice. Her new client, Hugo, gave these details at his first meeting: Age: 39 · single, renting, no dependants Employment: salaried IT project manager, A$128,000 a year Super: A$185,000 in a balanced option; employer contributions at 12% (A$15,360 a year) Other assets: A$40,000 in savings and a car worth A$22,000; no debts Side business: website design, about A$9,000 a year profit Risk profile: growth Goal: pay less income tax now and retire at 60 Question: would salary sacrificing A$10,000 a year into super reduce his tax, or should he claim a deduction for a personal contribution instead? As part of the same paid engagement, Mei also offers to fill in the business schedule of Hugo's personal tax return for the website business, working out his income and deductions. Hugo would then check it and lodge the return himself through myGov. A year later, the ATO reviews Hugo's personal contribution deduction. Hugo asks Mei, for a further fee, to deal with the ATO on his behalf and argue for the deduction. Mei's BEST response is to…
Answer: C. refer him to a registered tax agent: ATO representation is not tax (financial) advice
Answer: Refer him to a registered tax agent: ATO representation is not tax (financial) advice. A tax (financial) advice service excludes representing an entity in its dealings with the Commissioner (s90-15(1), referring to s90-5(1)(a)(iii)), so representing Hugo in the ATO review is a tax agent service that only a registered tax agent may provide for a fee (s50-5).Why not the others:• act for him: a qualified tax relevant provider may represent…: being a qualified tax relevant provider covers tax advice given in the course of financial advice, not representation.• act for him, provided Northgate approves…: Northgate's approval does not change who may lawfully act for a fee.• act for him, provided Hugo signs an authority…: a signed authority from Hugo does not change who may lawfully act for a fee.Rule: Representing a client in dealings with the Commissioner is a tax agent service, not tax (financial) advice, and Standard 1 of the Code requires Mei to stay within the law by referring the work.Source: Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (Cth) ss50-5, 90-5, 90-15 (compilation No. 27, 1 Oct 2026); Financial Planners and Advisers Code of Ethics 2019 (F2019L00117), Standard 1
