Financial advisers who trained as Certified Financial Planners (CFP) prior to 2003 will have their coursework recognised by the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA), the Financial Planning Association (FPA) says.

Advisers who started coursework between July 1 1999 and December 31 2003 will be awarded two credits – the maximum given – for prior learning in any approved graduate diploma. The credits are in addition to any credits for completing other relevant studies.

FPA CEO Dante De Gori says in a statement that the FASEA decision “recognises that the CFP designation continues to be the globally recognised gold standard in advice”.

“Of course, we still wait for FASEA to approve the outstanding pathways we have applied for so that all CFP® Professionals receive the recognition they deserve,”

The FPA has been fighting for months to have its CFP designation fully recognised by FASEA, after the authority originally said it would not consider it as prior learning. Its CFP program was granted two credits for prior learning in April, saving thousands of dollars in retraining costs for advisers.

Members have been urged not to abandon the CFP because of the FASEA changes, with the FPA saying the designation will be needed more than ever because of a developing industry-wide commitment to higher standards.