Australia's financial services industry has announced a move to introduce a new credential with the hope of raising the investor's confidence level to the industry which suffered a bad image during the global financial crunch.

The Financial Services Institute of Australasia (Finsia) said the Financial Services Professional credential would be overhauled to improve professionalism, performance and standards in the finance sector.

Part of the new rule is to require entrants to the financial services industry, including banking, wealth management and capital markets, to be made candidates for the credential starting September this year.

Candidates will undergo an intensive on-the-job training over a period of 18 months, from industry experts, to increase their knowledge and expertise in finance, as well as improve their ethical and behavioral standards.

Martin Fahy, chief executive officer of Finsia said the on-the-job training would deliver more effective results compared with purely education-based lessons.

"What this credential is going to do is drive very powerful social norms, and will bring forward a credential that mum and dad investors and employers and regulators can have confidence in.

Professional conduct is a learned behaviour. And you learn from doing. And the really important part is who you learn from," Fahy said.