Financial advisers across Australia are stepping up to meet education and professional development challenges, with record enrolments and continuing professional development (CPD) activity surging in the lead-up to the Dec. 31 education deadline, according to Kaplan Professional.
Existing financial advisers who don’t qualify for the 10-year experience exemption are required to complete an approved qualification under the professional standards framework to continue providing advice and remain listed on the Financial Advisers Register.
Kaplan Professional reported nearly 6,000 subject enrolments in the first three intakes of 2025 as financial advisers strive to meet education obligations.
At the same time, CPD content completions on its Ontrack platform surpassed 1 million in 2024, driven by more than 45,000 learners from over 3,500 corporate accounts.
“The high levels of education and experience, combined with the rigorous requirements for qualifying CPD gives the industry the right to earn the respect they deserve as a profession,” said Kaplan Professional CEO Brian Knight.
“The significant undertaking for advisers over the past few years to meet the education requirements and maintain CPD standards among the highest of any profession, while continuing to service their clients should not be underestimated.”
With financial advisers now required to complete 40 hours of CPD across five technical areas, demand for qualifying CPD content has significantly increased. Such content must be intellectually or practically relevant, led by qualified experts, and tailored to enhance advisers’ skills in delivering financial advice.
“There is a clear trend advisers are wanting to utilise CPD to extend their competence, knowledge and skills in emerging, niche and specialist areas such as ethical investments, ETFs, insurance and SMSFs,” Knight said.
“Being a professional means constantly growing your knowledge – the advice industry has worked hard to move away from a ‘tick-box culture’ … for the new advisers coming through, the pursuit of knowledge is part of their DNA and the Ontrack content constantly strives to satisfy this appetite for knowledge.”
Kaplan Professional said that licensees are instrumental in building a culture of professional development. They are responsible for maintaining CPD policies, creating professional development plans, and approving 70% of a financial adviser’s CPD activity as “qualifying”.
“They have played a key role in encouraging a culture that supports and provides CPD opportunities for their advisers that is at a level that genuinely improves their professional capabilities,” Knight said.
To meet demand, Kaplan has expanded the Ontrack platform with engaging, multimedia CPD content across all technical areas. Professional or technical reading is capped at four hours annually, which has driven the need for more interactive learning formats.
“We have had to respond accordingly as an educator to meet the challenge of delivering large volumes of high-quality, engaging and digitalised CPD content,” said Knight.
“Our focus at Kaplan Professional is on producing independent, instructor-led qualifying CPD content under the legislation that is educationally sound with structured activities, assessments and learning outcomes... developed by technical writers, academics and industry experts.”
Major licensees including Morgans Financial, Industry Fund Services (IFS), and Entireti said Kaplan’s Ontrack platform plays a key role in supporting adviser development.
“Ontrack is an essential tool for any licensee dedicated to supporting the ongoing professional development of their adviser network,” said Aldo Boccalatte of Morgans Financial.
“It provides our advisers and support staff with access to engaging and interactive learning content,” said Craig Sankey of IFS.
“Ontrack delivers end-to-end CPD solutions, plus flexible authoring tools and strong support,” said Sascha Warner of Entireti.
