The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) has affirmed an Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) decision to ban an insurance provider who operated without a licence.

Tracey Joanne Burnell, of Victoria, was permanently banned in 2017 from providing financial services.

ASIC says between 2014 and 2017, insurance contracts were arranged by two companies controlled by Ms Burnell – Landlord Protection and Collection Pty Ltd (LPC) and Landlord Protection Group Pty Ltd (LPG).

During the relevant period, neither LPC or LPG held an Australian Financial Services (AFS) licence or were authorised to provide financial services, apart from a short period of time in which LPG was authorised by an insurance broker.

ASIC permanently banned Ms Burnell from providing financial services but Ms Burnell applied to the AAT to review ASIC’s decision.

But the AAT rejected Ms Burnell's submission that her companies were authorised to arrange insurance contracts in the way that they did.

The AAT found that a permanent ban was appropriate given that Ms Burnell had been banned from providing financial services previously.

Ms Burnell has 28 days to appeal the AAT’s decision to the Federal Court.

Click here for the ruling.