Financial planning firm, National Advice Solutions, has been charged with 11 offences in relation to offering to issue or sell a financial product via unsolicited phone calls.
The charges were made at a hearing at the Southport Magistrates Court in Queensland earlier this week.
A statement from ASIC notes that following an investigation by the regulator, “…it is alleged that between August 2019 and June 2020, National Advice Solutions made unsolicited calls to 11 consumers and encouraged them to roll over their superannuation into different superannuation products.”
It says the matter has been listed for a mention hearing on 16 May 2022.
…the matter is being prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions…
ASIC adds that the matter is being prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions following referral of a brief of evidence from ASIC.
As background, ASIC says that at the time of the alleged offending, the maximum penalty for a breach of s992A(3) of the Corporations Act was $133,200 per breach for a body corporate.
It says that reforms to the anti-hawking regime were made under the Financial Sector Reform (Hayne Royal Commission Response) Act 2020, which commenced on 5 October 2021. These reforms were designed to tackle consumer harms arising from consumers being approached with unwanted products through cold-calls or other unsolicited contact.
The statement notes that the current charges are brought under the previous anti-hawking provisions because they relate to conduct that allegedly took place prior to 5 October 2021.
