changes to afma accreditation
February 2021
AFMA has entered into a Collaboration Agreement with Macquarie University (MQ)
Commencing March 2021, AFMA entered into a Collaboration Agreement with Macquarie University (MQ), under which its Business school will deliver the education services for AFMA’s Accreditation program.
MQ was selected after a competitive Request for Proposal process that began in February 2020. The University demonstrated a sound understanding of AFMA’s accreditation objectives and developed a program that is innovative in meeting our learning objectives, cost effective and can be further developed as required over time. MQ’s Applied Finance Centre has been a leader in finance education in the Asia-Pacific region for over 30 years.
A key objective of outsourcing education to a university level provider is that it will make AFMA accreditation more flexible and relevant to evolving market conditions. It will also provide a credible and cost-effective option for members should regulators specify more prescriptive requirements for the professionalism of individuals in the wholesale financial markets.
Individuals should complete the Macquarie Business School Financial Markets Certificate for the purposes of obtaining AFMA Accredited Status. For further information please refer to the following link:
March 2019
Professionalism: Conduct & Ethics
Update: The Professionalism: Conduct & Ethics course has now been discontinued. Those needing to complete this mandatory training should instead undertake unit 3 'Risk Management Principles' from the Financial Markets Certificate.
In November 2018, as part of AFMA’s Professionalism initiatives, the AFMA Board decided that the FNSSS00013 Business Ethics and Conduct Skill Set will be a mandatory requirement for all AFMA Accredited Individuals.
This Skill Set is the first government approved and authorised ethics and conduct Skill Set for the financial services industry. The Skill Set includes foundation skills for ethical competence in the financial markets sector.
What does this mean for you?
All individuals who were AFMA Accredited individuals (or enrolled in the AFMA Financial Markets Program) before 31 March 2019 will need to obtain the FNSSS00013 Business Ethics and Conduct Skill Set by the end of 2021 to remain accredited.
All individuals who enrolled in the AFMA Financial Markets Program (and who wish to become AFMA Accredited) after 31 March 2019 will need to obtain the FNSSS00013 Business Ethics and Conduct Skill Set in order to be eligible for AFMA Accreditation.
Individuals of the Macquarie Business School Financial Markets Certificate are not required to complete this course.
How do I achieve the Business Ethics and Conduct Skill Set?
AFMA has developed the Professionalism: Conduct & Ethics course which has been specifically designed for financial markets professionals to achieve the Skill Set. This can be achieved either through normal study or through an alternative “assessment only” version of the course for eligible applicants. An alternative pathway also exists for those individuals who have completed a FASEA-approved ethics bridging course (for further information please email education@afma.com.au).
For further information about the Professionalism: Conduct & Ethics course, and accreditation requirements, please refer the following links: