Professional Association Memberships and Designations

The Fellow Chartered Financial Practitioner (FChFP) is awarded by the Asia Pacific Financial Services Association (APFinSA), and is the highest educational designation, the term ‘Chartered’ being an indication of the high level of professional competency required.Individuals who hold the FChFP designation have the ability to display the FChFP mark of excellence to affirm to clients and peers their dedication to best practice standards. The FChFP also provides a gateway to an international career as it is recognised by all 11 members of the Asia Pacific Financial Services Association (APFinSA) including Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Macau, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan & Thailand.

The CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^® (CFP) designation is a professional certification mark for financial planners conferred by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards (CFP Board) in the United States, Financial Planning Association of Australia, Financial Planning Standards Council in Canada and 22 other organizations affiliated with Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB) the international owner of the CFP mark outside of the United States.

SMSF Association is recognised as the peak body for professional advisors and the leading association within the SMSF industry in Australia. SMSF Association members deliver integrated financial services and include professionals from the following industry groups; accountants, auditors, financial planners, lawyers, risk providers, actuaries, administrators and educators. SMSF Association represents professionals that provide advice in the highly complex area of self-managed superannuation funds.SMSF Association assists them in their advisory capacity to ensure that they work within the regulatory framework. SMSF Association is committed to raising industry standards, promoting best practice and looking after the needs of SMSF professionals who practice within all professional affiliations or memberships. This means members are recognised as practitioners of choice by SMSF consumers.

The National Tax and Accountants’ Association Ltd. (NTAA) is a member based organisation dedicated to assisting accountants, tax agents, tax advisers, and businesses. The NTAA helps members keep abreast of constant changes and updates on the various tax acts which are complicated and difficult to understand at times. They are a not-for-profit association and act as a support group for both tax agents and business taxpayers. The organisation was formed in 1992.The NTAA currently have over 8,500 member firms. They pride themselves on educating members through various seminars, publications and the latest IT software.

Given the growing internationalisation of business, and tax professionals increasingly travelling and working overseas, the launch of the new designation is a significant step for all tax professionals currently working in Australia. The launch of this new professional identity is due to the signing of a licensing agreement between The Tax Institute and the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) in the UK.Until this year the Chartered Tax Adviser designation was held only by members of the UK’s prestigious Chartered Institute of Taxation, but it has been extended in a bid to recognise and promote the highest standards of tax advice internationally. The Tax Institute is only the third tax body to be granted the ability to designate its members as Chartered Tax Advisers.

Registered Tax (Financial) Adviser

 The Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) is a national body responsible for the registration and regulation of tax agents, BAS agents and tax (financial) advisers (collectively referred to as ‘tax practitioners’). The TPB is also responsible for ensuring compliance with the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA), including the Code of Professional Conduct (Code).

All Australian financial services licenses and representatives who provide tax (financial) advice services for a fee or other reward must be registered with the Tax Practitioners Board.