The Government has announced a six-month delay to the requirement for financial advisers to be registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones says the decision to push the deadline to July 1 comes after ASIC consulted with stakeholders about the registration process.

The requirement to register financial advisers is a Hayne royal commission proposal aimed at protecting consumers and deterring misconduct. As part of the reform, a central registration requirement for financial advisers was introduced to support the new disciplinary system.

Stage one of the two-part registration process requires a one-off registration that is administered by ASIC using the Financial Advisers Register.

“ASIC has been engaging closely with industry about how best to implement stage one, with a view to ensuring the obligation on licensees to register financial advisers operates as efficiently as possible,” Mr Jones said.

“Through this engagement, ASIC has identified ways to improve the operation of the stage one registration process with benefits for licensees.

“Delaying the requirement for financial advisers to be registered until 1 July 2023 will allow these improvements to be implemented.”

ASIC says the deferment means advisers will now need to be registered by July 1 and points out the new registration requirement is separate to the pre-existing obligation for an Australian financial services (AFS) licensee to appoint a financial adviser that they authorise to the Financial Advisers Register.

The regulator now expects its Connect Portal to be ready in the second quarter next year for AFS licensees to register their advisers.