Graduate Diploma
The Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning is designed for students wanting an accredited qualification in financial planning. The course equips students with the specialist knowledge and skills to apply professional and ethical judgement in the provision of financial planning advice in accordance with the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) Code of Ethics and the regulatory and legal obligations of the financial planning profession. Students will undertake authentic learning activities that enable them to apply advanced discipline knowledge and ethical frameworks to client-based financial planning scenarios, simulated activities and design of financial planning documents such as statements of advice. Graduates will create a portfolio of work demonstrating their professional financial planning knowledge and skills across a range of client-based and financial services contexts. Graduates will develop their communication, inter-personal, problem-solving and decision-making skills and understanding of behavioural finance to enable the provision of professional and ethical financial planning advice to meet the needs and goals of clients. Students will be given authentic and simulated client based financial advice scenarios to analyse data and information, and use professional and ethical knowledge and judgement to develop strategies, draft statements of advice and provide financial planning advice appropriate to the level of financial literacy of the client.
A candidate shall:
(a) be an existing adviser* and hold a relevant** AQF Level 7 or higher qualification; or
(b) be an existing adviser* and hold a non-relevant** AQF 7 or higher qualification; or
(c) be an existing adviser*, and hold an AQF Level 6 Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning from an Australian TAFE or Registered RTO AND have completed FASEA- recognised study*** to attain a professional designation; or
(d) be an existing adviser*, and hold an AQF Level 6 Advanced Diploma in Financial Planning from an Australian TAFE or Registered RTO OR have completed FASEA-recognised study to attain a professional designation; or
(e) be an existing adviser*; or
(f) hold an AQF Level 7 or higher qualification and not be an existing adviser*, OR otherwise be qualified for admission (see Admission Undergraduate and Postgraduate (Coursework) Rule and Admission Undergraduate and Postgraduate (Coursework) Procedures).
*An existing adviser is:
(a) a person who:
(i) is a relevant provider at any time between 1 January 2016 and 1 January 2019 (except a person who has ceased to be a relevant provider under subsection 1546B(4) or (5)) of the Corporations Act 2001 ; and
(ii) is not banned, disqualified or suspended under Division 8 of Part 7.6 on 1 January 2019; or
(b) a person who:
(i) at any time between 1 January 2016 and 1 January 2019, provides personal advice in a foreign country to retail clients in relation to relevant financial products; and
(ii) is not prohibited under the law of the foreign country from providing such advice on 1 January 2019.
Existing advisers shall submit their ASIC Financial Advisor number for vertification; applicants who are NOT existing Financial Advisors (rule (f) above) shall provide a Statement of Service for their work experience from their employer (on company letterhead).
**A relevant qualification is one in a related field of study containing at least 8 units (subjects) in one or more of the designated fields of study in any combination: financial planning (includes financial advice areas of superannuation, retirement, insurance, estate planning), investments (includes all types of investments eg shares, derivatives, foreign exchange, options etc.), accounting, taxation/tax law (as defined by the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB), finance law, finance, business law (as defined by the TPB), estate law, banking and economics.
Related fields of study include, but are not limited to:
Accounting
Business
Commerce
Economics
Finance
***FASEA-recognised study: e.g. Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) Certified Financial Planner Program
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
FASEA-recognised Financial Planner.