ASIC makes second Spaceship Capital ban
Spaceship Capital director and chairman, Paul Ernest Dortkamp, has been banned from performing functions as an officer and responsible manager of a financial services business for two years.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) found Dortkamp, of Caringbah South, NSW, failed to understand the financial services offered by Spaceship under its licence.
Spaceship was the promoter of the Spaceship Super Fund which is issued by Diversa Trustees Limited as trustee of the Tidswell Master Superannuation Plan.
Specifically, in late 2018 and early 2019, Dortkamp failed to take the necessary steps in relation to a fault in Spaceship Super Fund’s consumer onboarding system in a timely way. The fault resulted in an unknown number of members being assigned to the incorrect superannuation product.
This was because he had incorrectly concluded it was not Spaceship’s responsibility nor his responsibility to deal with the fault, ASIC said this was a “fundamental oversight” for someone in his position.
As a result, ASIC decided he was not competent to perform functions as an officer or responsible manager of a financial services business.
He had the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
This was the second banning for Spaceship after former chief executive, Paul Kevin Bennetts, was banned for six years in January for dishonestly obtaining his Australian Institute of Company Directors qualification.
Recommended for you
The Governance Institute has said ASIC’s governance arrangements are no longer “fit for purpose” in a time when financial markets are quickly innovating and cyber crime becomes a threat.
Compliance professionals working in financial services are facing burnout risk as higher workloads, coupled with the ever-changing regulation, place notable strain on staff.
The Senate economics legislation committee has recommended Schedule 1 of the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes legislation be passed as it is a “faithful implementation” of the recommendations.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has handed down his third budget, outlining the government’s macroeconomic forecasts and changes to superannuation.