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On June 16, 2026, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) banned Brett Anthony Newbound, a financial planner and sole director of Freedom Wealth Services Pty Ltd, from engaging in any credit or financial services activities for ten years. ASIC simultaneously cancelled the Australian financial services (AFS) licence and Australian credit licence (ACL) of Freedom Wealth Services Pty Ltd, effective from May 1, 2025. ASIC determined that Newbound engaged in conduct that breached the statutory requirements to be considered a fit and proper person to participate in the credit and financial services industries. Specifically, ASIC found that in three instances, Newbound relied on service agreements containing client signatures that ASIC determined had not been provided by the clients. Newbound also created, or caused to be created, file notes that ASIC found did not accurately reflect client interactions, in order to justify charging ongoing service fees. This conduct demonstrated a pattern of misrepresentation designed to support fee collection without proper client authorisation or documentation. Newbound's banning has been recorded on ASIC's banned and disqualified register effective from May 1, 2025. Both Newbound and Freedom Wealth Services Pty Ltd have appealed ASIC's decision to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART). The pair also sought a stay and confidentiality orders from the ART, which the tribunal dismissed on June 16, 2026. A hearing date for the substantive appeal has not yet been scheduled. ASIC stated that its actions reflect its commitment to protecting consumers who engage financial service advisers and to enforcing standards required of those operating in the financial services industry.