Former HIH actuary David Slee has been disqualified by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) from holding any appointment as an actuary of a general insurer under the Insurance Act 1973.

APRA says Mr Slee was found not to meet the fitness and propriety requirements set out in the regulator’s prudential standards, “in particular that the person must have adequate experience and demonstrated competence and integrity in the conduct of business duties”.

Deputy Chairman Ross Jones says APRA’s decision to disqualify Mr Slee was based on his use of unrealistic assumptions in his capacity as a consulting actuary to HIH to arrive at an unreasonably low estimate of the group’s claims liabilities. APRA also found that Mr Slee allowed his independence to be compromised.

APRA has also referred Mr Slee’s conduct and its conclusions to the Institute of Actuaries.

Mr Jones says the assessment of a number of individuals involved with the collapse of HIH is continuing. “This is a large scale and complex exercise that still has some considerable way to run.”