Resilience and progress: Semester 1, 2026 results

Semester 1, 2026 results are out. Congratulations are well and truly in order for the 470 students who passed their subjects this semester.

Among them, 110 students have now completed all examinations required to qualify for Fellowship. Subject to payment of all fees (including exemption fees) and submission of the Practical Experience Requirement form, they will be awarded their FIAA designation on 7 July — a milestone that marks the end of years of sustained commitment to the profession.

For students heading into Fellowship assessments, our examiners' advice is simple: practise writing. Extended, independent writing is one of the most effective ways to prepare — AI tools aren't available in the exam, so building that skill matters. Your learning journal, available in Canvas, is a great place to start.

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.

Prize winners

Congratulations to our Semester 1 prize winners who have demonstrated an excellent grasp of the subject, sound critical thinking and clear communication skills.

Jonas Tiong, Sunny Cai, Sourish Agarwal, Patrick Ubonsuwan (L-R)

Eric Zhu, Robert Serge, Kangnan Wang, William Zeng (L-R)

Educational conduct

Upholding the integrity of our qualification program is a shared responsibility. In Semester 1, 2026, 819 exam sessions were completed. We reviewed 112 papers for potential conduct concerns and the vast majority were resolved without further action. There were nine cases that required the Education Strategy Committee to make a determination. This thoroughness reflects our commitment to protecting the value of your qualification, not an expectation of wrongdoing.

ALM exam disruption

In Semester 1, 2026, a systems issue during the Asset and Liability Management (ALM) examination prevented 89 students from accessing their exam paper on time. A workaround was identified quickly, but reaching and supporting each affected student individually meant delays varied — most students were able to access their paper within minutes. The work time for every student, from download to submission, was reviewed.

Following a thorough review comparing the performance of affected and unaffected students, results showed that affected students scored on average 0.1 marks less across all questions combined. As a fair and transparent response, a 0.5 mark adjustment was applied for all 89 affected students to account for the variable degree of disruption.

The Institute takes the integrity of the examination experience seriously and is committed to responding fairly when technical issues arise outside students' control.

Moving to in-person exam centres

Council has approved the transition of qualification examinations from at-home online invigilation to in-person, computer-based exam centres, with implementation targeted for Semester 1, 2027.

Online proctoring has served the profession well over recent years, but its structural limitations have become increasingly clear. Platform reliability issues affect approximately one in four students, automated flags generate significant volumes of false positives, and the time required to investigate conduct concerns has grown beyond what result timelines can comfortably accommodate. Ensuring a consistent and fair experience for all students — and maintaining the integrity of our assessments — are the Institute's priorities.

A procurement process is underway. Full details, including a FAQ and centre arrangements, will be shared before Semester 1, 2027 enrolments open.

Life Insurance Applications: subject offering frequency

Council has endorsed a policy allowing Fellowship Application subjects with sustained lower enrolments to be offered once per annum rather than each semester. Superannuation and Retirement Applications has operated this way for several years — this formalises the approach across all Fellowship Application subjects.

Life Insurance Applications will run in Semester 1, 2027. Subject to 2026 Semester 2 enrolment levels, LIA may not run in Semester 2, 2027. We encourage students to factor this into their pathway planning. We will confirm 2027 arrangements before enrolment opens for Semester 1, 2027.

Life Insurance is one of the oldest and most important practice areas in the profession. This change reflects current enrolment levels, not the significance of the discipline as Life Insurance remains a vital practice area and a core part of the Fellowship pathway.

Student experience

Each semester we survey students about their learning experience. Students highlighted three consistent strengths this semester: well-structured materials that built concepts progressively, content that connected clearly to professional practice, and educators who were approachable and genuinely invested in student learning. Special mention goes to Jacqui Reid (GIA), Janice Jones (SRA) and James Purvis (ALM), who were singled out for their responsiveness and dedication.