The majority of financial advisers who sat the most recent exam passed, according to the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority.

FASEA has released the most recent exam statistics, which show 76% of advisers passed the October sitting. There were 625 advisers who sat the most recent exam.

The overall pass rate of 76% may be attributed to several factors, FASEA said, noting that the October exam attracted a much smaller cohort of advisers in general, combined with a higher than usual proportion of re-sitters.

Overall, 89.5% of advisers who have sat the exam (irrespective of how often it was sat) have passed, representing 49% of advisers on ASIC's Financial Adviser Register (FAR).

FASEA chief executive Stephen Glenfield congratulated the successful candidates for completing an important component of their education requirements under the Corporations Act during these extraordinary circumstances.

"Over 11,690 advisers have sat the exam with nine in 10 demonstrating they have the skills to apply their knowledge of advice construction, ethics and legal requirements to the practical scenarios tested in the exam," he said.

Some question areas advisers underperformed in the October exam included if the advice recommendations meet the client's best interests, and if the Code of Ethics was applied to advice scenarios identifying compliance and non-compliance.

Some 10,460 advisers have passed the exam to date. Existing advisers have until the end of 2021 to pass the exam.

There will be six sittings next year offered online and in physical locations.

Over 1000 advisers have registered for the January exam that will be held from January 28 to February 2.