HUNTLEY MANAGEMENT LIMITED and Australian Securities and Investments Commission

Huntley Management Limited (the Applicant) sought a review of a decision by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to suspend its Australian financial services licence (AFSL) for 12 months. The dispute arose from the Applicant's failure to lodge audited annual financial statements and reports, and an audit report for a compliance plan, for the RNY Property Trust for the 2020 and 2021 financial years by the required deadlines. ASIC's decision to suspend the AFSL was made under section 915C of the *Corporations Act 2001* (Cth).

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether ASIC's decision to suspend the Applicant's AFSL was appropriate, and if not, whether the suspension order should be set aside or varied. The Applicant argued that the suspension was contrary to the objectives of the *Corporations Act* and the *ASIC Act* 2001 (Cth). Alternatively, the Applicant proposed that if a suspension was necessary, it should be proportionate to the non-compliance and limited to the RNY Scheme, allowing for day-to-day operations and immediate lifting upon lodgement of the outstanding reports.

The Tribunal considered the Applicant's admitted breaches of its reporting obligations under the *Corporations Act*, including section 601HG. While ASIC accepted the Applicant had attempted to rectify the issues, the uncertainty regarding the timeline for rectification led ASIC to impose the suspension. The Tribunal noted that the Applicant self-reported the breaches on 15 June 2021, having missed the deadlines earlier that year. The Applicant's General Manager acknowledged in hindsight that seeking relief from compliance deadlines earlier would have been prudent.

On 10 May 2023, Deputy President McCabe made interlocutory orders staying the operation of ASIC's suspension decision in relation to the Link Mortgage Fund pending the final determination of the review application. However, the suspension was not otherwise stayed in relation to other schemes for which the Applicant was the responsible entity. This stay was conditional on the Applicant providing specific notification to current and prospective investors in the Link Mortgage Fund.