Who Needs RG146/PS146 Training?
If you work in the Australian Financial Services Industry, there's a chance that you or a member of your staff needs training in the RG146/PS146 policy. Anyone who provides personal or general advice about financial products to their clients much have this training, whether the advice is written, or merely verbal.
Personal advice is that given when a provider has considered the financial situation, needs, and goals of the person in question, or where the provider can be expected to have considered these matters. That doesn't mean that personal advice is just given to one person, however. If you give this kind of advice to a group of people in a similar situation, you're still giving personal advice.
General advice also deals with financial products, but isn't targeted. It can be given to an individual or a group, and may come in the form of a presentation, flier, circular, newsletter, or a number of others. That means that passing out a leaflet with advice about financial products requires you to have RG146/PS146 training.
RG146/PS146 stands for Policy Statement 146, part of the Financial Services Reform Act of 2001. This document is available at the ASIC web site for the general public to read. The first three subsections of the document relate to training standards for finance professionals in Australia.
Section one lays out the minimum training standards for those who provide advice on financial products to their retail clients. Section two states who the standards apply to, and section three states how to meet those standards. Satisfactorily completing the appropriate training courses is the general way. These courses are listed on the ASIC Training Register that applies to your advisory activities.
You can take these courses through a number of different organizations, which provide a diploma of financial services. This diploma accredits you in the PS146 standard. Look for a Registered Training Organization, or RTO. To provide limited advice in a single area, it may be possible to simply take a few courses. However, for the majority of people who are operating in the realm of financial services, the full Diploma of Financial Planning is appropriate. Modules for this diploma include Financial Planning, Investment, Insurance, Superannuation, Financial Advice.
There are a number of different ways to take these courses. You can sign up for traditional face to face teaching, distance learning, and even online courses to receive your RG146/PS146 training. This makes it easy for anyone to get the appropriate training without making major changes to their schedule or lifestyle. Distance courses can also be a lot less expensive, making it affordable to keep up to date.
If you're part of the Financial Services industry and you don't have the correct training for RG146/PS146 or you wish to join the Financial Services industry as a financial planner, investigate your options. Chances are that you can easily find an RTO to give you the training you need, without a lot of hassle.