Hart and Commissioner of Taxation (Taxation)

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Hart against a decision by the Commissioner of Taxation to disqualify him from acting as a trustee, responsible officer, investment manager, or custodian of a superannuation entity under the *Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993* (SIS Act). The Commissioner's decision, made on 11 September 2015, was initially based on Mr Hart not being a fit and proper person to act as a trustee. However, during proceedings before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, the Commissioner also relied on the ground that Mr Hart had contravened the SIS Act.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was required to determine whether Mr Hart should be disqualified from acting in these capacities. Specifically, the Tribunal had to consider whether Mr Hart had contravened the SIS Act, and if so, whether the nature, seriousness, or number of such contraventions warranted disqualification. Additionally, the Tribunal had to assess whether Mr Hart was otherwise not a fit and proper person to hold such positions, taking into account all relevant evidence.

The Tribunal found that Mr Hart had breached the SIS Act and its regulations on numerous occasions while acting as a trustee of a self-managed superannuation fund. These breaches were considered extremely serious, resulting in the loss of approximately $300,000 in superannuation benefits for Ms Kathleen Hart and the dissipation of almost the entire SMSF, which had at one point exceeded $600,000. The Tribunal also noted that while it could not definitively find Mr Hart falsified Ms Hart's signature, the evidence raised a serious suspicion of this occurring, which was a factor in assessing his fitness and propriety. The Tribunal concluded that both the number and seriousness of the contraventions justified Mr Hart's disqualification.