Education
Achievement and satisfaction: Semester 2 2025 results
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The Actuaries Institute congratulates the 585 students who passed their Semester 2 subjects. This strong performance reflects not only students' dedication and hard work, but also the quality of teaching and support that underpins our Qualification Program.
This semester, 118 students have completed all the examinations required to qualify for Fellowship, a fantastic achievement after several years of dedicated study. Those students who have paid all fees, including exemption fees, and have submitted the required Practical Experience Requirement form were awarded their FIAA designation on 16 December 2025.
Pass rates and the number of students who sat in each subject for the last three semesters are shown below.
Visit the Results page to view the pass lists and those eligible for Fellowship.
Congratulations to our Semester 2 prize winners on their impressive performance and depth of understanding of the subjects.
If my 21-year-old self at university tried to model the probability of winning the Andrew Prescott Award four times, he would have flagged the result as an outlier, one that felt impossible for him. Though much to my surprise, here we are.
Studying through the Actuaries Institute while working full-time over the past two years has been a surreal, demanding and incredibly rewarding experience.
My approach wasn't glamorous. On weekdays, I'd shut my work laptop, open the study laptop and begin my second shift: three hours of focused study. Weekends weren’t much different. Study during the day and then make just enough time for family and friends, to remind myself that life exists outside of Microsoft Excel.
Before each semester, I'd read the textbook to build a mental map of the content, highlighting anything that felt important. Then, during the semester, I stuck to a simple formula:
Setting a weekly to-do list was key to keeping everything on track. Then, once I hit the past paper stage, I would refine my notes with key ideas from the model solutions. My final pre-exam ritual was simple. Reread my notes, highlight the pressure points and quietly hope the exam committee was in a generous mood.
Looking back, the consistency mattered more than intensity for me. There was no single breakthrough moment during the semester, but rather just a lot of small, sustained steps. The Institute's education structure, my study group and colleagues all played a big part in making the journey not only manageable, but meaningful. Every late night, every question to a colleague, every tutorial discussion and every new Microsoft Excel and Word shortcut eventually added up.
And then comes that moment. The email confirming you’ve passed and can officially call yourself an Actuary. It's a mix of relief, pride and disbelief, all at once. A feeling you never forget.
Maintaining academic integrity remains a priority in an environment where AI and other tools are rapidly evolving. This semester we expanded our exam review processes, alongside ProctorU, to support fair assessment and protect the integrity of our qualifications. We continue to refine our approaches to give confidence that the qualification students earn genuinely reflects their capability — which ultimately protects the value of their professional designation.
Each semester we survey students about their learning experience. The results reflect strong satisfaction with the quality of teaching and support provided across both the Actuary and Fellowship Programs.
Overall satisfaction remained high, with 93% of Actuary Program students and 80% of Fellowship Program students rating their experience as "satisfied" or "very satisfied." Among Actuary students, 72% indicated they intend to continue into the Fellowship Program in the next year, with an additional 14% planning to continue but unsure of timing, demonstrating a strong commitment to achieving their Fellow designation.
Students particularly valued responsive educators, practical content that connected to workplace application, and well-structured materials that built concepts progressively.
While satisfaction was high, students also provided constructive feedback on areas for improvement, including assessment clarity, workload pacing and platform functionality. The Education Team will continue to review and respond to this feedback as we refine our subjects for 2026.
Semester 1 2026 is now underway, with John Evans joining as our new Chief Examiner for Banking.
John Evans, FIAA, and a Chartered Enterprise Risk Actuary, brings over 15 years of banking experience from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, where he led the Enterprise Risk and Capital Advisory team and worked directly with senior executives and board directors.
John has also delivered immersive banking simulation training to staff at all levels across Australian and international banks. His deep expertise in risk management, capital, treasury and governance, combined with his passion for education and coaching, benefits the Banking students.
Learn more about the team delivering the Qualification Program on our Meet our Educators page.
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