The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) has rejected an appeal from a West Australian financial adviser to have a ban, given after he failed to meet best interests obligations when providing SMSF advice on, partially lifted.
The AAT affirmed the original decision by ASIC to ban Perth-based adviser Wayne Blazejczyk from providing financial services for five years after he sought a review of the scope of the banning order and requested he only be prohibited from providing personal advice to retail clients.
ASIC stated that in seeking the review, Blazejczyk did not contest the regulator’s findings that he had breached a financial services law and conceded a five-year banning period was appropriate.
In affirming ASIC’s decision on 2 November, the AAT stated it was not satisfied a limited banning order of the type requested by Blazejczyk would provide sufficient general deterrence, nor would it promote consumer confidence and professionalism in the financial services industry.
It also noted a permissive banning order that would allow him to engage in specific financial services activities would not be adequate to promote the protective objectives of the licensing regime.
Blazejczyk was banned from 18 December 2019 and applied to the AAT for a review of ASIC’s banning order on 13 January 2020. His ban will remain on ASIC’s Financial Advisers Register and Banned and Disqualified Register.
At the time of the ban, he was an authorised representative of Ballast Financial Management Pty Ltd, which has since had its Australian financial services licence suspended until 18 December 2020 as it had ceased to carry on a financial services business.
