A financial adviser and SMSF auditor have been barred from practising in two separate actions following an examination of their behaviour by different review panels.
In the first instance, the Financial Services and Credit Panel (FSCP) handed down a two-year registration prohibition order against Sydney-based financial adviser Glenn Paul Meilak in regards to advice given to clients recommending they set up an SMSF.
The panel found Meilak displayed a lack of care and a level of incompetence in giving the advice and it held a reasonable belief he contravened the best interest duty, the appropriate advice obligation, failed to prioritise his clients’ interests over his own, made misleading statements and his conduct was systemic.
As such, the FSCP found he had also not complied with the values of competence and fairness and standards one, five and nine in the Code of Ethics.
The panel can make administrative decisions on matters referred to it by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) that relate to the conduct of financial advisers and in this case cancelled Meilak’s registration as a relevant provider from 10 February 2025 until after 10 February 2027.
Meilak accepted the panel’s proposal and the decision has been published on the FSCP Outcomes Register on the ASIC website.
In a separate action, the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) has confirmed the decision of ASIC to disqualify Terence Murphy, of Forster, New South Wales, from being an approved auditor of an SMSF in the case of Murphy and Australian Securities and Investments Commission (Taxation and business) [2025] ARTA 75, heard on 6 February.
ASIC initially disqualified Murphy in February last year after it imposed conditions on his registration as an SMSF auditor in July 2022, including completing a competency exam condition, but found he failed to comply with these measures, and also failed to comply with applicable auditing standards and reporting requirements.
The ART considered whether Murphy was a fit and proper person to continue acting as an SMSF auditor and affirmed ASIC’s decision to disqualify him from acting in that capacity.
