For Australian Financial Advisers

The pathway to advising in New Zealand Professional IQ has the bridging solution that lets advisers with approved Australian qualifications practise in New Zealand.

Credits registered with NZQA

Start the same day

Bridging Course

$850 plus GST Enrol Now

Professional IQ has your pathway into the New Zealand market

If you're a financial adviser with approved Australian qualifications, you're closer to advising in New Zealand than you might think. Professional IQ has developed a dedicated bridging solution that completes your pathway to meeting the qualification requirements set out in Code Standards 6-8 of the Code of Professional Conduct for Financial Advice Services.

On completion, you'll hold a Professional IQ certification that — combined with your Australian qualifications — allows you to provide regulated financial advice in New Zealand through a registered Financial Advice Provider (FAP). It's the fastest, most credible way to bring your Level 5 financial services career across the Tasman.

Australian qualifications you'll need

To rely on Professional IQ's certification to practise in New Zealand, you will need to have completed the following under the Australian standards. If you've completed these, this is the ideal course for you.

An approved degree or qualification

Completed a degree or other qualification listed in the Corporations (Relevant Providers Degrees, Qualifications and Courses Standard) Determination 2020 (Australia), or one or more courses determined by the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority Ltd to give an existing provider equivalent qualifications.

The approved adviser exam

Passed the exam approved in the Corporations (Relevant Providers Exams Standard) Determination 2019 (Australia).

The work and training professional year

Completed the work and training professional year set by the Corporations (Work and Training Professional Year Standard) Determination 2018 (Australia). Note: completion of the professional year is not required for existing providers.

How it works

Complete registration and payment in minutes. Confirm your residency status and provide a New Zealand business or residential address as part of enrolment.

Complete the Australian Bridging Course

Complete Professional IQ's Australian Bridging Course, designed around the New Zealand regulatory framework for financial advice. Fully online and self-paced, so it fits around your existing workload.

Receive your certification

On completion, Professional IQ issues your Certificate of Completion and registers your credits with NZQA.

Combined with your Australian qualifications, your certification allows you to be engaged by a registered Financial Advice Provider (FAP) and registered on the Financial Service Providers Register (FSPR).

Certification you can rely on

On completion, Professional IQ issues your Certificate of Completion. Combined with your Australian qualifications, it allows you to be engaged by a FAP and registered on the Financial Service Providers Register (FSPR).

Bridging Course

$850 plus GST

Enrolment takes just a few minutes and you can start the same day. Partner discounts are applied at checkout where eligible.

Enrol Now

What's included

Bridging course on the NZ regulatory framework

Fully online and self-paced

Professional IQ Certificate of Completion

Credits registered with NZQA

Start immediately — no intake wait

Partner discounts apply

Questions first?

Speak with our team

Not sure whether your Australian qualifications meet the requirements? Our team can talk you through it before you enrol.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can't find an answer? Contact us →

It's for Australian financial advisers who hold approved Australian qualifications and want to provide regulated financial advice in New Zealand. You'll need an approved degree or qualification, to have passed the approved adviser exam, and to have completed the work and training professional year (existing providers are exempt from the professional year).

The course is built around the New Zealand regulatory framework for financial advice — the legislation, consumer and compliance requirements, the Code of Professional Conduct, and complaints and disputes processes that apply when you provide financial advice here. It's the bridge between your Australian training and practising in the New Zealand market.

The New Zealand Certificate in Financial Services (Level 5) is the benchmark qualification for advisers here. Rather than completing the full Level 5 financial services qualification from scratch, this bridging course recognises your existing Australian qualifications and bridges the gap so you meet the New Zealand standard. If you don't hold approved Australian qualifications, our full Level 5 courses are the right starting point.

The course is fully online and self-paced, so you complete it around your existing workload. You can start as soon as you complete enrolment — there are no intake dates.

Yes. On completion your credits are registered with NZQA, and Professional IQ issues your Certificate of Completion.

Completing the bridging course, combined with your approved Australian qualifications, means you meet the competence, knowledge and skill standards required to give regulated advice in New Zealand. To actually provide advice you must also be engaged by a registered Financial Advice Provider (FAP) and registered on the Financial Service Providers Register (FSPR).

No. Professional IQ certifies that you have completed the Australian Bridging Course only. We do not sight or certify the completion of your Australian qualifications — you are responsible for ensuring you hold the required Australian qualifications and training.

The bridging course is $850 plus GST. Partner discounts apply where eligible and are applied at checkout.

Anyone giving financial advice in New Zealand — including those with overseas qualifications — must meet the continuing professional development requirements under Standard 9 of the Code. View CPD courses →

This information is based on the FMA's recognition of Australian professional standards. Terms and expressions have the same meaning as in the Corporations Act 2001 (Australia) unless the context otherwise requires. If the law in Australia or New Zealand changes, the approach to recognising Australian qualifications may be amended. Professional IQ has not sighted and does not certify the completion of Australian qualifications.