Master of Financial Planning

This program is offered full-time and part-time online in Trimester 1 and Trimester 2. It is only offered as part time online in Trimester 3. With some courses available on campus, you may choose to study courses at other campuses, online or a combination of both. While not all courses are available in all study periods, continuing students may plan their enrolments to enable 30 credit points or more to be undertaken in Trimester 3.

Griffith offers courses over three 12 week trimesters a year. Some courses in this degree are taught over 6 weeks as part of the 12 week trimester and some courses are taught over the 12 weeks of the trimester. Refer to the individual course links in the program structure for more information.

Student Income Support

To be classed as a full-time student, you are required to enrol in a minimum number of credit points each standard study period. The minimum credit points for full-time enrolment in this program is 30 credit points.

Trimester 1 and Trimester 2 are deemed standard study periods. As Trimester 3 is a non-standard study period, continuing students moving from one year to the next will not be required to study during this trimester to be eligible for student income support.

Domestic students who commence in Trimester 3 may be eligible for student income support from the onset of study provided they are enrolled full-time in this study period.

Please refer to the Australian Government website for more details.

Courses in this program will provide work-integrated learning opportunities in the form of applied projects, case studies and virtual/simulated environments.

Upon completion of the program, you may find career opportunities in the financial services industry (namely, banks, funds management and financial planning companies) in various roles such as client services officers, authorised representatives, financial advisers and para-planners.

The Master of Financial Planning is accredited by the Financial Adviser Standards.

Graduates meeting the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) curriculum requirements will be eligible for admission to the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® Certification Program delivered by the FPA. The CFP Certification Program is the globally recognised standard of excellence in financial planning.

Graduates will also be eligible for advanced standing for four of the educational components of the program and can complete the CFP® Capstone course (CFP C) as an elective as a part of their program. As a result, Griffith University students will earn a professional designation alongside their degree, making a significant saving in time and cost. Please note, professional association membership and work experience requirements apply. To find out more about the CFP® Certification Program visit fpa.com.au/cfp and to start your enrolment in CFP C contact education@fpa.com.au. On completion of CFP C, please submit a credit transfer application.

Tax Practitioners Board

The courses 7106AFE Income Tax Law and 7161AFE Applied Taxation have been approved together by the Tax Practitioners Board as a Course in Australian Taxation Law that is required for Tax Agents and Tax (Financial) Advisers. Note that these courses are recognised for both Tax Agents and Tax (Financial) Advisers, and are only listed on the Tax Agent list being the highest qualification.

The Code of Professional Conduct requirements in the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA) are covered in 7106AFE and 7161AFE. Note that 7106AFE and 7161AFE are recognised for both Tax Agents and Tax (Financial) Advisers, but are only listed on the Tax Agent list being the highest qualification.

Graduates may be eligible for membership with the following professional bodies:

• Association of Financial Advisers (AFA)
• Self Managed Super Fund (SMSF) Association