Wellington Capital Limited v Australian Securities & Investments Commission and Anor

The High Court of Australia considered an appeal by Wellington Capital Limited against a decision of the Federal Court of Australia, which had upheld a determination by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and a second respondent. The dispute concerned ASIC's power to issue a notice under s 19 of the *Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001* (Cth) (ASIC Act) requiring Wellington Capital to provide information and documents relevant to an investigation into alleged contraventions of the *Corporations Act 2001* (Cth).

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether ASIC's power to issue such a notice was limited by the requirement that the investigation must be into a contravention of a provision of the *Corporations Act 2001* (Cth) or a provision of a law of the Commonwealth that relates to companies or financial services. Wellington Capital argued that the notice was invalid because the investigation, as described by ASIC, did not sufficiently specify a contravention of a relevant provision.

The High Court, in a joint judgment, held that the power to issue a notice under s 19 of the ASIC Act is engaged when ASIC has formed a belief that a contravention of a relevant law has occurred or may have occurred. The Court reasoned that the purpose of the notice power is to facilitate ASIC's investigations, and it is not necessary for ASIC to identify with precision the specific provision that may have been contravened at the stage of issuing the notice. The Court emphasised that the statutory language did not impose such a strict requirement and that the information provided by ASIC was sufficient to inform Wellington Capital of the nature of the investigation.

The appeal was dismissed.