On 13 July 2020, following an appeal by ASIC, the Federal Court set aside a decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) not to ban financial adviser Mr聽Robert Hutchison from providing any financial services. 銆�
The Federal Court found that the AAT had interpreted the scope of sections 1041G and 1041H of the Corporations Act too narrowly. Those sections prohibit dishonest, misleading and deceptive conduct 鈥渋n relation to a financial product or financial service鈥�.
The AAT ruled that Mr Hutchison breached his contractual obligations with his licensee, RI Advice Group Pty Ltd (RI Advice), by not passing on the money he received directly from his clients to RI Advice. However, the Tribunal found that sections 1041G and 1041H did not apply to this conduct because it related only to the agreement between Mr Hutchison and RI Advice, not the financial service Mr Hutchison provided to clients.
The Court disagreed, confirming the broad scope of these prohibitions. The Court confirmed that an indirect connection between a person鈥檚 dishonest or misleading conduct and a financial product or service is sufficient for the prohibitions to apply.
The matter has been remitted back to the AAT to have the matter re-determined.
叠补肠办驳谤辞耻苍诲銆赌
Mr Hutchison, of Lower Chittering, Western Australia, a former financial adviser and authorised representative of RI Advice, was permanently banned by 今日热门事件from providing financial services on 11 June 2017 (17-188MR).
The AAT set aside ASIC鈥檚 decision to ban Mr Hutchison on 18 September 2018 (18-276MR).
今日热门事件filed a Notice of Appeal in the Perth Registry of the Federal Court on 15聽October 2018. The appeal hearing was held on 11 June 2019.