ASIC has cancelled the Australian financial services (AFS) licence of Lief Pty Ltd, effective Aug. 21, after determining the company failed to maintain required membership with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).
Lief Pty Ltd, which had held its AFS licence since March 2011 and was authorised to provide advice and deal in life and superannuation products, was found to have breached statutory obligations.
AFCA membership is a legal requirement for all AFS licensees, providing consumers with access to an external dispute resolution mechanism when internal complaint processes do not resolve issues.
In addition to the AFCA membership lapse, ASIC identified that Lief Pty Ltd did not meet its financial reporting obligations, including the preparation and lodgement of annual profit and loss statements and balance sheets.
Under section 915C of the Corporations Act, ASIC may cancel a licence if a licensee fails to comply with obligations under section 912A, which include AFCA membership, adherence to licence conditions, and compliance with financial services laws.
Lief Pty Ltd has the right to appeal ASIC’s decision to the Administrative Review Tribunal.
The regulatory action against Lief Pty Ltd is one of several taken by ASIC in September 2025.
ASIC has also issued penalties to Retail Employees Superannuation Pty Ltd (Rest) and commenced legal proceedings against RACQ Insurance Limited during the same period.
ASIC issued two infringement notices totalling $37,560 to Rest for representations made to members regarding insurance cover.
Between June 2024 and January 2025, Rest sent annual statements and emails to over 2,000 members, indicating they held active insurance cover, despite records showing these members had previously cancelled or never held such cover.
ASIC alleges that these communications implied Rest was entitled to activate insurance and deduct premiums from member accounts, which was not the case. Rest paid the infringement notices, though ASIC clarified that payment does not constitute an admission of liability.
Addressing member services failures in superannuation is an ASIC enforcement priority for 2025. The regulator encourages trustees to implement robust systems to prevent administrative errors and to act promptly when issues are identified, in order to protect member balances and maintain confidence in the sector.
ASIC’s concerns and the details of the alleged contraventions are outlined in the published infringement notices.
The regulator also referenced reforms such as Protecting Your Superannuation (PYS) and Putting Members Interests First (PMIF), which limit default insurance in certain situations to protect superannuation balances from unnecessary erosion.
ASIC has commenced proceedings in the Federal Court against RACQ Insurance Limited, alleging that the insurer distributed more than 570,000 renewal notices with potentially misleading premium comparisons between September 2019 and December 2024.
The regulator contends that RACQ’s renewal documents included a “last period premium” figure that, in many cases, exceeded the actual amount paid by customers due to discounts or policy changes. ASIC asserts that this practice may have led customers to misinterpret the extent of their premium increases.
ASIC further alleges that RACQ was made aware of the issue through customer complaints soon after implementing the practice but did not take sufficient corrective action for several years.
The renewal documents in question covered a range of insurance products, including home, motor, caravan, boat, and pet insurance.
ASIC is seeking declarations, civil penalties, and orders for corrective publicity from the court.
