TPB proposes 60 hours of adviser education
Financial planners may need to complete at least 60 hours of continual professional education to stay registered as tax advisers, the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) has proposed.
The TPB has released its Exposure Draft Explanatory Paper TPB(EP) D5/2014 in which it outlined its proposed continuing professional education (CPE) policy for registered tax (financial) advisers.
In it, the board proposed that the minimum level of relevant CPE that should be completed by financial planners wishing to provide tax-related advice should be 60 hours over three years.
The three-year period would commence on the day the adviser registers with the TPB and the renewal of their registration would depend on whether the adviser completed the required minimum of professional education.
"The TPB anticipates that its CPE requirements will also instigate and drive the future development of CPE activities by various associations and organisations for the registered tax (financial) adviser profession," the explanatory paper read.
The board had also acknowledged that there would be some advisers who are subject to CPE requirements from other associations, such as the Financial Planning Association's continuing professional development (CPD) requirements.
"In these circumstances, the TPB is of the preliminary view that one hour of relevant CPE completed will be considered one hour of CPE for the purposes of the TPB's CPE policy, irrespective of how many points the same CPE activity attracts for any other purpose," the board said.
Relevant CPE activities may include seminars, workshops, webinars, courses, lectures, structured conferences, tertiary courses, research, writing and presentation of technical publications, as well as activities provided by relevant recognised associations, among others.
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