Unit Synopsis
This unit is the foundation unit for students completing the Financial Planning stream and covers the professional financial planning process, including the Australian legal framework and the responsibilities of financial planners. You will learn how to investigate a client's financial situation and turn the core elements of financial planning into a strategic financial plan. You will also be introduced to financial planning software, tools and templates used in real-world financial planning practice as well as communication methods aimed at building long term client relationships.
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 1 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 4 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
There are no pre-requisites for the unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework). |
| Class Timetable | View Unit Timetable |
| Residential School | No Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2026
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Practical Assessment | 30% |
| 2. Practical Assessment | 30% |
| 3. Take Home Exam | 40% |
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Source: SUTE Comments Report
A student found the amount of information provided early on overwhelming, but over time adjusted and learned where to find what they needed.
Unit coordinator to make it clearer how to deal with the amount of information as this is an important financial planning skill to develop.
Started simplifying and prioritising Moodle content in T1 2026.
Source: SUTE Comments Report
A student felt they got lost as there were multiple places when it came to Assessment information
Unit coordinator to guide students on where to find all assessment-related resources. 1) Assessment tasks are located in the Assessment tile. 2) Assessment references and support materials are provided weekly, as outlined in the Study Guide.
Assessment Task and Assessment Resources were separated into two tiles on Moodle.
Source: SUTE Comments Report
A student struggled to understand how to disclose and cite GenAI and LLM use.
Unit coordinator to provide more guidance on how to disclose and cite GenAI and LLM.
More resources and Workshop time wa spent on Responsible GenAI use.
Source: SUTE
Student workload - Students appear to be experiencing a mismatch between the expected workload and the perceived demands of the unit compared to other core units. While financial planning is inherently complex and the Statement of Advice (SOA) process is time-intensive, students are signalling that they struggle to differentiate between essential and supplementary materials.
Review the Moodle structure and only include "essential weekly learning materials". Consider reducing duplication across learning resources and assessment guidance.
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Clarity of assessment expectations - Students requested greater clarity regarding assessment expectations, particularly for the SOA assignment. Additional assessment support resources, including exemplars, FAQs, and assessment walkthroughs, will be developed to enhance transparency and improve student confidence.
Develop a marking guide walkthrough video for each major assessment. Review communication approaches during workshops to ensure guidance is supportive and developmental.
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Novice learner support - Several students indicated difficulty transitioning into professional financial planning concepts, particularly the Statement of Advice, due to limited prior exposure to the industry. Additional introductory resources and early-semester scaffolding will be incorporated to better support students who are new to financial planning.
Introduce an early "Introduction to Financial Planning Practice" module.
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Unit organisation - Students reported difficulties managing the large assessment template during collaborative work. Assessment documents will be reviewed to improve usability and minimise technical barriers to successful completion.
Separate Part A and Part B into different template documents. Reduce file size where possible by removing unnecessary formatting or embedded content.
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Workshops go over time sometimes
Audit workshop content to ensure delivery remains within the scheduled timeframe.
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Currency and relevancy of learning resources - Students requested clearer identification of updated learning materials and more contemporary lecture content. Resource currency and communication regarding annual updates will be enhanced in future offerings.
Record a short introduction each term outlining current updates. Include "Updated for 2026" labels on revised resources. Create a "What's New This Term?" announcement page. Gradually refresh older video content.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Explain and apply the process and Australian legal framework of financial planning.
- Present strategic advice which meets the financial planning needs and objectives of clients in a variety of circumstances.
- Communicate effectively with clients to solve financial planning problems.
- Construct financial planning scenarios using industry standard software.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Practical Assessment | • | • | ||
| 2 - Practical Assessment | • | • | • | • |
| 3 - Take Home Exam | • | • | • | • |
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | • | • | • |
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | • | • | • |
| 4 - Information Literacy | • | • | • | • |
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | • | • | • | • |
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | • | • | • | • |
| 8 - Ethical practice | • | • | • | • |
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |
| 1 - Practical Assessment | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||
| 2 - Practical Assessment | • | • | • | • | • | • | • | ||||
| 3 - Take Home Exam | • | • | • | • | • | • | |||||