B BACKGROUND
4 As long ago as September 2021, Amana applied for approval as a provider of home care, and in May 2022, a delegate of the Commissioner refused that application. Amana sought a reconsideration of this decision. As notice of a reconsideration decision was not given to Amana within 90 days of the reconsideration request, the decision to refuse the application was taken to have been affirmed on 6 September 2022 (deemed decision).
5 In October 2022, Amana applied to the Tribunal for review of the deemed decision and in December 2022, the Tribunal ordered that the matter be remitted to the Commissioner for reconsideration of the deemed decision on or before 16 January 2023. The saga continued in January 2023 when the delegate affirmed the deemed decision not to approve Amana to become a provider of aged care (specifically, home care and flexible care).
6 The review application before the Tribunal involved a one-day hearing held on 2 April 2024. Both the Commissioner and Amana (which was represented at the hearing by its managing director, Mrs Nasour) filed submissions in the form of a Statement of Facts, Issues and Contentions. The evidence discloses that in June 2022, Amana provided various "additional supporting documents". Part of that material involved reference to additional information given in relation to "key personnel", and referred to Mr Tony Baddour, the director of an accounting firm, who was described as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Amana. The additional information also represented, among other things, that:
[Mr Baddour's] sweeping responsibilities included but were not limited to overseeing the full finance function including responsibility for IT systems and the complete establishment and oversight of head office operations. His unique set of skills and experience across diverse industries and varying organizations [sic] (size and culture) has given him the skills needed for any Senior Finance and CFO roles. He enjoys the experience of working closely with an organization's [sic] senior executive teams to realise strategic goals in an open and transparent environment with cross functional input and business partnering across the organisation.
7 As part of the process before the Tribunal, various witness statements were also provided. One of those statements came from a certified practising accountant, being Mr Hadee Faqih, who was described as the "registered accountant" of Amana. Mr Faqih attested to "the detailed attention given [at Amana] to various aspects, including payroll management, invoicing procedures, BAS statements, and overall adherence to legal requirements".
8 In the Statement of Facts, Issues and Contentions filed on behalf of the Commissioner dated 15 September 2023 (Commissioner SFIC), reference was made to the fact that the issue for determination before the Tribunal is "whether [Amana] is suitable to provide home care for the purposes of the Commission Act" and that determination of that issue "will require the Tribunal to consider the matters in s 63D(3)(a) to (e) of the Commission Act, in addition to any other matters the Tribunal may think it relevant to consider" (at [4.1]).
9 As part of the matters put to the Tribunal, it was submitted on behalf of the Commissioner that it was open for it to consider the experience of Amana's identified key personnel in providing the relevant forms of home care. Those identified key personnel included Mr Baddour, who in addition to being described in the document earlier (at [6]) as the CFO, was identified as "KP5".
10 Mr Baddour was described in the Commissioner SFIC (at [5.11]) as:
the only key personnel of [Amana] who appears to be somewhat independent from [Amana's] business as an aged care broker and NDIS provider. He is a certified practising accountant and appears to have provided accountancy services to [Amana] in the past. He does not have any experience in providing aged care or other relevant forms of care. It is not clear how [Amana] proposes that Mr Baddour will develop an understanding of the rigorous financial requirements and obligations of a provider of aged care, let alone be equipped to ensure that [Amana] complies with those responsibilities.
11 As will be seen below, one of the mandatory considerations to which the Tribunal was required to have regard was s 63D(3)(d) of the Commission Act, being Amana's "record of financial management and the methods that [Amana] uses, or proposes to use, in order to ensure sound financial management".
12 As part of a number of arguments that were directed toward seeking to persuade the Tribunal as to this consideration, the Commissioner submitted the following:
[Amana's] CFO, Mr Baddour, has no qualifications or experience related to aged care. His involvement in the sector appears limited to the provision of accounting services to [Amana] and he was only identified as a member of [Amana's] key personnel after his omission was highlighted by the Commissioner. Despite this, there is nothing to suggest that Mr Baddour will continue to operate other than as an external provider of company accounting services. As such, it remains unclear how [Amana], through its CFO or otherwise, will ensure that it complies with the rigorous financial governance requirements that come with approval.
13 On the basis of the above and other submissions, the Commissioner contended that the Tribunal ought not be satisfied on the evidence before it that Amana met what it described as the "high threshold of suitability" to provide aged care, as required by s 63D(2)(b) of the Commission Act, when regard is had to all relevant matters.
14 When the matter eventually came on for hearing on 2 April 2024, there was reference to a number of persons who were said to perform the roles of "key personnel" in Amana being absent before the Tribunal for the purposes of being questioned. During the cross-examination of Mrs Nasour, the following evidence was adduced:
MR ESKERIE: Now, what about Tony Baddoor?---He's an accountant.
MR ESKERIE: Is it your position that he will remain a key personnel at Amana?---I believe not.
MR ESKERIE: And since when has that changed?---Last year.
MR ESKERIE: So when last year?---I can't remember on top of my head. I'm happy to send you the dates later on.
MR ESKERIE: The beginning of last year, late last year? Can you give me an indication?--- I'm not sure. Maybe Saad can.
MR ESKERIE: Because you say a fair bit in your reply of 30 October 2023 about Tony Baddoor and his responsibility as the CFO?---Exactly. And if you see that last statement of facts, we did not mention him.
MR ESKERIE: So he's dropped out?---Yes.
MR ESKERIE: And the role of the CFO has dropped out with him?---Yes.
MR ESKERIE: So all of your documents that refer to CFO, that should be ignored, the reference to CFO because you will not have a CFO?---No, because we will have one.
MR ESKERIE: So you will have a treasurer, a CFO and an accountant; is that the plan?---If needed.
MR ESKERIE: Well, what is your management plan for your finance be? Who will there be?---We'll have to look at the policies and procedures, policy number 8.
MR ESKERIE: I'm not asking you to take me to a policy, I'm asking you about your understanding of what your company's financing will comprise of?---Yes.
So it will comprise of myself - - -
MR ESKERIE: (Indistinct)?---Yes. It will comprise of myself, Saad and the treasurer and the accountant of the company.
MR ESKERIE: And by accountant, do you mean Mr [Faqih], or do you mean someone else than Mr [Faqih]?---And he's the one who we always ask for advice. Like, for example, when we purchase the van the other day we were in contact with him to ask him a few questions on how to do it, what - who should we - how we should register it and stuff like that. Yes.
15 Mr Faqih was also cross-examined and gave evidence consistent with his statement mentioned earlier as follows (T66.14-30):
MR ESKERIE: Now, you are the principal of A2Z Taxation; is that right?---Yes. Yes.
MR ESKERIE: And that's essentially a tax accountancy business; is that correct?---Tax (indistinct), yes.
MR ESKERIE: And that is the type of service you are providing Amana; is that right?---Correct, yes.
MR ESKERIE: Okay. And I think you said earlier as well you described your role as being a tax agent for Amana?---Yes. I am their tax agent, yes.
MR ESKERIE: All right. Now, Amana is essentially a client of A2Z Taxation; is that right?---Yes.
MR ESKERIE: How many clients would you say you have a present roughly?---Roughly about 550 clients.
16 When the evidenced concluded, the senior member invited submissions from the parties, and invited the Commissioner to address the Tribunal in advance of Amana's submissions. The solicitor appearing for the Commissioner made reference to the Commissioner SFIC and went on (to use his words) to "highlight some key aspects of the evidence, including evidence that came out today". In the light of the evidence that had emerged during the course of the hearing, the following was submitted (T72.22-32; T73.18-25):
MR ESKERIE: Ms Nasour herself started as a CEO, she's now managing director. There's a reference to a CFO who no longer is in the picture. There's now a registered accountant who's given prominence in the material and in the policy documents when it comes to financial arrangements. Well, we heard from that accountant today who identified his role as the tax agent for Amana who happened to be one of that particular tax agency's some 500 or so tax clients. What that reveals, and what we say the remainder of the evidence before the tribunal reveals, is that behind the very elaborate, and with respect, confusing façade that is presented as Amana's overall governance and management structure is, in fact, a very simple business structure that revolves around Ms Nasour.
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MR ESKERIE: We know nothing really of verifiable substance about a number of these people. We only found out today that the CFO, who was given quite some prominence including in the applicant's reply SFIC as late as October last year, is no longer in the picture. Instead, mention was made of Amana having a registered accountant, who has today described himself as the tax agent whose business has some 550 and clients including Amana. That just, sort of, reveals the extent to which the façade that is presented is simply not the reality of this business.
17 Following the conclusion of oral submissions, the Tribunal reserved its decision and did not deliver reasons, being the decision, for over four months.
18 Before coming to the decision, it is worth setting out the nature of the decision required to be made under the Commission Act.