CORPORATIONS – respondent carried on a financial services business within the meaning of Pt 7.6 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Act) by issuing a facility for non-cash payments involving the “Qoin” digital currency or crypto-asset – whether the respondent was exempt under s 911A(2) of the Act from the requirement to hold an Australian Financial Service Licence (AFSL) under s 911A(1) – where the respondent was appointed as an authorised representative of another entity that held an AFSL which covered the financial services provided by the respondent – whether the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent was exempt from holding an AFSL on the basis it had been appointed, and was providing financial services, as an authorised representative of an AFSL holder – practice of “AFSL provisioning”
STATUTORY INTERPRETATION – whether the exemption in s 911A(2) includes an “essential representative capacity requirement” – whether a person can be an authorised representative where it is the issuer of a financial product – HELD: appeal allowed – exemption in s 911A(2) applies when authorised representative provides financial services “as representative of” AFSL holder – outcome is fact dependent – in issuing the relevant financial product and providing financial services in relation to it, the respondent was not acting “as representative of” AFSL holder – unnecessary to decide whether an authorised representative can be an issuer of a financial product
