Wang v Australian Securities and Investments Commission

In Wang v Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the Federal Court considered an appeal by Mr Wang against the Administrative Appeals Tribunal’s (AAT) affirmation of a decision by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to permanently ban him from providing financial services. The AAT had found Mr Wang to be dishonest and to have engaged in misleading conduct in communications with a third party. The appeal focused on whether the AAT erred in finding that Mr Wang was not a person of good fame or character and whether the AAT’s exercise of discretion to affirm the banning order was legally unreasonable.

The court considered the statutory provisions under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) that required the AAT to find Mr Wang to be not of good fame or character for the banning order to be upheld. It held that the AAT's findings were supported by evidence, and that the AAT had correctly applied the relevant legal standards in assessing Mr Wang's conduct. The court also rejected Mr Wang's argument that the AAT erred in failing to find that his conduct was in relation to a financial product or service. The court found that the AAT's reasoning was sound and that its decision was not legally unreasonable.

The appeal was dismissed with costs. The court held that the AAT’s decision was based on a proper application of the law and was supported by the evidence. The court found no basis to interfere with the AAT’s determination that Mr Wang was not a person of good fame or character, and accordingly, the banning order was affirmed. The court’s decision was final, and Mr Wang remained permanently banned from providing financial services in Australia.