About the 2008 Paraplanner of the Year Award Entries to the Award open 1 September 2008! Please see Timeline of Events for more information. The Paraplanner of the Year Award was created by Australian Unity in 2001 and has continued to grow each year with the support of the FPA, Kaplan Professional and Money Management. The Award was created as a result of the realisation that very little official recognition exists for the paraplanning profession. As well as providing paraplanners with a great opportunity to gain career recognition, this Award promotes the continuing enhancement of professionalism in the financial planning industry. The Award encourages those professionals who wish to make financial planning their career and congratulates the person who has proven through the quality of their submission that they are truly one of financial planning's epic heroes.