The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has suspended Focused Financial Advice Pty Ltd’s Australian financial services (AFS) licence (No. 286219) until 19 December 2025, pending its assessment and approval of a variation to update the licence’s key person. ASIC found that after a 2023 ownership change, the licence’s key person and responsible manager ceased and the firm did not apply to vary its licence within five days as required by its licence conditions. Focused Financial Advice consequently provided financial services for more than two years without a key person and, by continuing to operate after the key person’s cessation, appears to have failed to maintain the competence to provide the financial services authorised under the licence; ASIC also found the firm was unaware of the breach until ASIC made enquiries. The release reiterates that key person conditions are imposed where ASIC considers a licensee is heavily dependent on the competence of one or two responsible managers and that AFS licensees must remain aware of, and operate in accordance with, their licence conditions. The suspension forms part of ASIC’s review of advice licensees that use lead generation services and sits alongside its focus on licence-condition compliance during changes in ownership control.

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