Exemption Information
Where do the actuarial exemptions come from?
In order to become a practicing actuary in Australia, you need to complete the Education Program (at least the Foundation Program and Actuary Program) offered by the Actuaries Institute (AI). This involves passing the exams for the appropriate subjects, for example CS1, CS2, etc (see below).
The University of Melbourne is one of the eight universities that offer education programs covering the Foundation Program and part of the Actuary Program of the Actuaries Institutes’ syllabus. If you achieve a satisfactory grade consistent with the institute’s standards in your university subjects, you can be granted exemptions for the corresponding AI subject. This allows you to go through the AI's Education Program without sitting through all of AI's exams.
For the Melbourne University exemption subjects and their corresponding AI subjects, please see the appendix.
The Three Parts of Becoming a Fully Qualified Actuary
To be qualified as an Associate of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia (AIAA), you must complete both Part I and Part II of the Actuaries Institute's (AI) education program and have one year of relevant work experience in an actuarial-related field. Some of you might then go on to continue their study to become a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia (FIAA), for which they must also complete Part III of the education program. All of Part I and half of Part II can be completed via the University of Melbourne while Part III can only be completed through the Actuaries Institute.
Part I — The Foundation Program is the first step of becoming a qualified actuary and consists of six subjects.
It can be completed by studying for and sitting the IFoA (Institute and Faculty of Actuaries) examinations offered through the institute or transferring your passed exams from another actuarial society.
It can be completed by studying at one of the eight Australian accredited universities (including the University of Melbourne) and obtaining satisfactory grades for the relevant university subjects.
Part II — The Actuary Program consists of four subjects.
Two of the subjects — Actuarial Control Cycle and Data Analytics Principles — are taught by the seven Australian accredited universities (including the University of Melbourne).
The other two subjects — Asset and Liability Management, and Communication, Modelling and Professionalism — are offered online by the AI.
To become an AIAA, you must have completed one year of supervised work experience whilst studying your Part Is and Part IIs.
Part III — The Fellowship Program allows you to specialise in one particular actuarial industry, consisting of three modules.
There are three half-year Fellowship modules delivered and assessed by the AI.
To become a FIAA, you must also complete a further year of supervised work experience.
Source: The Institute of Actuaries of Australia
Exemption Marks at Melbourne University
In order to decide whether an exemption is awarded, exemption marks are calculated at the University of Melbourne. For non-ACTL subjects, the exemption cut-off is 73 and for ACTL subjects, the exemption cut-offs are based on the performance of the entire cohort and vary each year — announced by subject coordinators after the subject's assessment. Your exemption mark of a university subject is calculated by subtracting the exemption cut-off from your subject score.
exemption mark = subject score - exemption cutoff
Although the exemption cut-offs vary each year, you may wish to refer to the 2020 exemption cut-offs in ASS Subject Review 2020 Edition as guidance.
In order to determine your eligibility for an exemption, you use the corresponding university subjects and the associated exemption marks. After receiving all your exemption marks, you can find the weighted average of these marks (weights are shown in the table) and your exemption would be awarded if this weighted average is non-negative.
Example:
Sophie would like to determine her eligibility for the CM1 exemption
The exemption marks she received are 9 and -4 for ACTL20001 and ACTL30003 respectively
The weighted average of her exemption marks for CM1 is: 9*0.5+(-4)*0.5=2.5>0
Sophie is eligible for the CM1 exemption
How do you obtain your exemptions after completing the exemption subjects?
Once you complete your university subjects, you are not automatically granted the exemptions because you are still not recognised by the Actuaries Institute. You then need to:
Apply to become a student member of the Actuaries Institute by filling in a membership application form and paying membership fees. (If you are a full-time student from the University of Melbourne, you are entitled to student discount fees of $160.)
Complete the exemption recommendation letter and send it to the Centre for Actuaries Studies via this email: econ-actenquiries@lists.unimelb.edu.au
For each exemption you are granted you will then need to pay fees of $300 per subject to finally receive your exemptions.
What are my options if I do not attain the exemption mark?
If you fail to attain the exemption for a particular AI subject from your study at the University of Melbourne, there are other options available to become accredited.
One option is to resit the subject through the Community Access Program (CAP) at the University of Melbourne as a continuing education student. More information on the Community Access Program can be found on the Centre for Actuarial studies website. If there are multiple university subjects involved in attaining a particular exemption, you would only need to resit the one with the lowest mark such that the weighted average is greater or equal to zero.
The second option is to enroll online into the Institute subject through the Actuaries Institute after applying to become a student member. You would then sit the corresponding exams offered by the UK Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA). These exams are only held multiple times a year, and you would need to self-study either by purchasing the course material from Actuarial Education Company (ActED) or finding other resources before the exam.
Appendix: Melbourne University Exemption Subjects
Undergraduate Exemption Subjects
Postgraduate Exemption Subjects
