ASIC has banned Timothy William Parry and Damian Garnet Price of Lismore-based North Coast Financial Services Pty Ltd (NCFS) from controlling a financial services business or performing any function as an officer of an entity that carries on a financial services business for six years, after finding they breached their duties.

ASIC found that Mr Parry and Mr Price breached their duties as director and officer respectively by failing to take sufficient steps to ensure that:

• they fulfilled their responsibilities by implementing effective supervision and monitoring arrangements at NCFS;
• a satisfactory due diligence process was undertaken when purchasing NCFS’s client book;
• NCFS complied with financial services laws; and
• NCFS and its representatives complied with the compliance manual of its licensee, Millennium 3 Financial Services Pty Ltd (Millennium 3), performed the obligations in Millennium 3’s compliance manual in a diligent and faithful manner, and complied with obligations under the law.

NCFS has been an authorised representative of Millennium 3 since 5 February 2004 and is authorised to provide financial product advice and deal in financial products.

Mr Parry was sole director and secretary of NCFS between 4 September 2008 and 15 October 2020. Mr Price was an officer of NCFS at all relevant times. While they controlled the business, neither of them were financial advisers at NCFS.

On or around 28 May 2015, NCFS took on board new clients. ASIC found neither Mr Parry nor Mr Price took sufficient steps to identify the services NCFS was required to provide to these new clients, resulting in 58 clients being charged over $1500 each in fees for services that were not provided. 

Mr Price and Mr Parry each have the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC’s decisions.

Mr Price’s and Mr Parry’s banning will be recorded on ASIC’s publicly available Financial Advisers Register and the Banned and Disqualified Persons Register.

Background

ASIC commenced an investigation into Mr Price and Mr Parry following a breach report lodged by Millennium 3 concerning fees for no service conduct by NCFS.

Editor's note:

Mr Parry and Mr Price have both applied to the AAT for a review of ASIC’s decision.

Editor's note 2:

On 23 December 2021, Parry withdrew his application for review. On 16 March 2022, Price withdrew his application for review. Their bans remain in force until 15 July 2027.