The headline is historical. ASIC suspended Halifax Investment Services Pty Ltd’s Australian financial services (AFS) licence on 8 January 2019 after the company entered voluntary administration. The suspension was later extended, the licence was cancelled effective 8 January 2021, and the limited authority preserved after cancellation ended on 7 January 2024.
ASIC’s current matter record therefore does not describe Halifax as holding a merely suspended licence. It records the licence as cancelled.
What happened to Halifax’s AFS licence?
Halifax Investment Services entered voluntary administration on 23 November 2018. Morgan Kelly, Stewart McCallum and Phil Quinlan of Ferrier Hodgson were appointed as joint voluntary administrators.
Because Halifax was a body corporate in external administration, ASIC suspended its AFS licence. ASIC can suspend or cancel an AFS licence in that circumstance without first holding a hearing.
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| Date | Regulatory event | Practical effect |
|---|---|---|
| 23 November 2018 | Halifax entered voluntary administration | Administrators took control of the company’s affairs |
| 8 January 2019 | AFS licence suspended | Ordinary financial-services business could not continue |
| 20 March 2019 | Creditors resolved to place Halifax into liquidation | The administrators became liquidators |
| 18 December 2019 | Suspension extended | Limited client-related functions remained available |
| 8 January 2021 | AFS licence cancelled | Only narrowly defined activities could continue temporarily |
| 7 January 2024 | Limited post-cancellation authority ended | No remaining authority under that ASIC notice |
The January 2019 suspension was not permission to keep trading
ASIC announced the initial suspension on 14 January 2019. It applied from 8 January 2019 until 10 January 2020.
The suspension terms allowed Halifax to continue only with specific client-protection and wind-down tasks:
- maintaining clients’ access to an external dispute-resolution scheme;
- maintaining compensation arrangements for retail clients, including professional indemnity insurance; and
- terminating existing arrangements with Halifax clients.
Those exceptions did not restore Halifax’s ordinary AFS business. They did not authorise the company to take on new clients, provide its normal investment services or operate as if the suspension had not occurred.
ASIC extended the suspension after liquidation began
At the second creditors’ meeting on 20 March 2019, creditors resolved to place Halifax into liquidation. The existing administrators then became the company’s liquidators.
ASIC extended the licence suspension with effect from 18 December 2019 until 8 January 2021. ASIC announced that extension on 7 January 2020. The same three limited purposes continued:
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- access to external dispute resolution;
- maintaining retail-client compensation arrangements, including professional indemnity insurance; and
- terminating existing client arrangements.
This distinction matters for former Halifax customers. A suspended licence can sometimes remain on the register while certain restricted activities are permitted. It does not necessarily mean that the licensee can continue offering the financial products or services it previously provided.
ASIC cancelled the licence in January 2021
ASIC cancelled Halifax’s AFS licence effective 8 January 2021 and announced the decision on 12 January 2021.
The cancellation notice nevertheless preserved a narrow set of activities. Halifax could continue to:
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- maintain compensation arrangements for retail clients, including professional indemnity insurance; and
- provide financial services needed to terminate existing arrangements with retail or wholesale clients.
This was a wind-down provision, not a reinstatement of the licence. It did not allow Halifax to resume normal operations or accept new business.
ASIC later varied the cancellation notice twice:
| Date of variation | Change |
|---|---|
| 14 December 2021 | Limited continuation extended to 7 January 2023 |
| 2 December 2022 | Limited continuation extended to 7 January 2024 |
ASIC said the extensions were intended to avoid adverse effects on former or current clients, particularly where an existing arrangement could be terminated only through Halifax providing a financial service.
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What does ASIC’s current status mean?
If you are checking Halifax’s regulatory history, the accurate summary is:
ASIC suspended Halifax’s AFS licence in January 2019, extended the suspension in December 2019, cancelled the licence effective January 2021 and allowed limited wind-down activities until 7 January 2024.
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It is not accurate to say that Halifax’s licence is currently suspended, that Halifax held a normal AFS licence until 2024, or that the licence was restored during the post-cancellation period.
The client-money dispute and insolvency proceedings
Halifax’s administration and liquidation involved disputes about the distribution of client money and investments. A joint hearing of the Federal Court of Australia and the High Court of New Zealand ran from 30 November 2020 to 9 December 2020. Judgments concerning the valuation of investments and the return of shares and client money were handed down on 19 May 2021.
ASIC’s matter page says it considered the circumstances of Halifax’s administration and liquidation, including allegations raised by the administrators in their report to creditors under section 439A of the Corporations Act 2001. Those allegations included issues concerning compliance with financial-services laws and client-money requirements.
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AFS licensees must keep client money separate from their own money. Breaches of the relevant client-money provisions can attract criminal penalties. However, the existence of allegations or a court dispute should not be presented as proof that Halifax itself committed fraud.
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ASIC says it concluded its investigation into Halifax in July 2023 and decided not to take enforcement action.
That point limits what can properly be inferred from the licence cancellation. The cancellation followed Halifax’s external administration and liquidation. It was an administrative regulatory action based on the company’s status and circumstances, not a published final ASIC finding that Halifax had committed fraud or other proved misconduct.
The auditor faced separate criminal proceedings
ASIC separately investigated Halifax’s auditor. The proceedings involved EC Audit Pty Ltd, formerly Bentleys NSW Audit Pty Ltd, and auditor Robert James Evett.
The allegations concerned audits of Halifax’s financial statements for the years ended:
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- 30 June 2016;
- 30 June 2017; and
- 30 June 2018.
On 17 August 2021, EC Audit and Evett were convicted and fined for failing to conduct the audits in accordance with auditing standards. Those proceedings concerned the auditors’ conduct. They were not a criminal conviction of Halifax.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What former clients should take from the ASIC record
- Do not rely on the old suspension headline. It describes the January 2019 event, not Halifax’s final licence status.
- Separate licence status from insolvency recovery. ASIC’s licence action and the liquidators’ work to deal with client assets are related to the same collapse but are not the same process.
- Check primary documents. For regulatory status, use ASIC’s Halifax matter page and the relevant ASIC notices. For claims, distributions or investment records, refer to communications from the liquidators and the relevant court decisions.
- Do not treat the limited continuation as permission to trade normally. It existed to protect access to dispute resolution, maintain compensation arrangements and complete existing-client terminations.
Primary sources
- ASIC Halifax Investment Services matter page
- ASIC’s January 2019 suspension announcement
- ASIC’s suspension-extension announcement
- ASIC’s January 2021 cancellation announcement
- ASIC’s auditor proceedings announcement
- ASIC’s auditor conviction announcement
FAQ
Is Halifax Investment Services’ AFS licence currently suspended?
No. ASIC cancelled the licence effective 8 January 2021. A limited continuation for client-related wind-down activities ended on 7 January 2024.
Why did ASIC suspend Halifax’s licence?
Halifax had entered voluntary administration on 23 November 2018. ASIC suspended the licence because it was held by a body corporate in external administration.
Could Halifax continue operating after the suspension?
Not its ordinary financial-services business. The suspension allowed only limited tasks involving dispute resolution, retail-client compensation arrangements and termination of existing client arrangements.
Did ASIC cancel Halifax’s licence because it proved fraud?
ASIC’s published record does not support that wording. ASIC says its investigation into Halifax concluded in July 2023 without enforcement action against Halifax.
Was Halifax convicted over the client-money issues?
The supplied ASIC record does not report a criminal conviction of Halifax. Separate criminal proceedings resulted in convictions and fines for its auditor, EC Audit Pty Ltd and Robert James Evett, over audit breaches.
What happened to Halifax’s client money?
The distribution of client money, shares and investments was considered in proceedings involving the Federal Court of Australia and the High Court of New Zealand. Judgments concerning valuation and returns were handed down on 19 May 2021. Former clients should use liquidator communications and court documents for claim-specific information.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: ASIC’s action against Halifax did not stop at a temporary suspension. The AFS licence was suspended from 8 January 2019, extended during the liquidation, cancelled effective 8 January 2021 and subject only to limited wind-down authority until 7 January 2024. ASIC later closed its Halifax investigation without enforcement action against the company, while separate criminal proceedings were brought against its auditor for audit failures.
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