Individual Compliance Audit Exemption
Who Can Apply for an Exemption?
The following registrants are exempt from a compliance audit under Bylaw 8.6(3):
- Trainees;
- Individual Registrants who are Sole Practitioners1;
- Individual Registrants who have undergone a compliance audit in the previous 5 years;
- Individual Registrants employed by a Registrant Firm that has undergone an audit in the previous 12 months and the Registrant Firm has been found to be in compliance;
- Life members without practice rights or life limited licensees without practice rights.
An individual Registrant may be granted an exemption under Bylaw 8.6(5) if they:
- Are unemployed, on parental leave, medical leave, or compassionate care leave; or
- Have other extenuating circumstances.
Who Should Not Apply for an Exemption?
Registrants who do not meet the exemption criteria above will not be granted an exemption. Please note that retired or non-practising registrants are not exempt from the audit program.
How to Apply?
Registrants who have been randomly selected for a compliance audit can apply for an exemption by filling out the Compliance Audit Exemption Form online or complete the application in Word or PDF format. Submit Word and PDF application forms to [email protected].
You must respond to the notification of your compliance audit, including by submitting an exemption request, within 15 business days of being notified.
When Can a Decision Be Expected?
Registrants can expect an answer to the outcome of their exemption application within 30 days of receipt, unless the request is being reviewed by the Audit and Practice Review Committee, in which case the registrant will be informed of an estimated response date.
How Does an Approved Exemption Impact the Individual Registrants?
The approved exemption applies only to the current compliance audit. The registrant must apply for a new exemption if randomly selected for another compliance audit in the future. The approved exemption has no impact on other regulatory requirements such as Annual Reporting, Continuing Education, or annual fees.
1 As defined in the Bylaws, Sole Practitioner means a professional registrant who practises on their own, either in an incorporated or unincorporated manner.