15 The detail of how the schemes operated can be illustrated by reference to the first in time, the Bendigo Vineyard Estate project. Since at least August 2014 that project was promoted/operated by the sixth defendant, Bendigo Vineyard Estate Pty Ltd, together with the eighth and ninth corporate defendants, to members of the public under a program or plan of action known as land banking. Bendigo Vineyard Estate Pty Ltd acquired a property at 51 Andrews Road, Bendigo, Victoria. A concept plan, being an unregistered plan of subdivision, was prepared for that land which divided it into 638 proposed residential lots of which a maximum of 50%, that is 319 lots, were to be sold to investors prior to that plan being approved by the City of Greater Bendigo Council.
16 Investors would be offered the opportunity to purchase an option over a specified lot (being a proposed land parcel on the plan) at an agreed price which gave them the right to purchase that nominated lot once the plan was registered. The option would be for a period of 20 years, followed by a further extension of five years, if necessary. Bendigo Vineyard Estate Pty Ltd was to develop the land, including doing all things necessary to have it rezoned to residential land, registering the concept plan and meeting all the costs of doing this. The option holders would ostensibly benefit by being able to purchase the said lots at a price below what the lot might be expected to sell for once the land was rezoned to residential land.
17 Bendigo Vineyard Estate Pty Ltd and the other two corporate defendants promoted the Bendigo Vineyard Estate project to investors by means of contacting people on a database, through websites, through seminars and events, by articles published, by social media, including on a Facebook page called "21st Century Property", by direct contact in person or by telephone with prospective investors by employees or agents, by the provision of brochures and by the provision of a price list for the lots.
18 In promoting the Bendigo Vineyard Estate project, Bendigo Vineyard Estate Pty Ltd and the eighth and ninth corporate defendants and their officers, employees and agents gave prospective investors recommendations or statements of opinion, or reports to the same effect. This was intended to influence a person in making a decision about the options or could reasonably be regarded as having been intended to have such an influence, and thereby issued, varied and/or disposed of the options. Between at least August 2014 and 21 August 2015, Bendigo Vineyard Estate Pty Ltd and the other two corporate defendants sold 120 options to 87 investors for a total of $3,025,805.
19 The sale of the options was effected by investors paying an option fee known as a "lot reservation fee" and entering into lot reservation agreements. Those agreements included terms by which Bendigo Vineyard Estate Pty Ltd indemnified the investor in respect of expenditure, project expenses and other costs associated with the project, and agreed to implement the option, the project and all other activities contemplated by the agreement. The investor agreed to pay the option fee and do all things and sign all documents as may reasonably be required of it. Bendigo Vineyard Estate Pty Ltd would use its best endeavours to develop the land in accordance with the concept plan, incur the expenses associated with the project, carry out any other act or thing reasonably required to carry out the project and be responsible for project administration.
20 The option fee was paid by investors to Bendigo Vineyard Estate Pty Ltd into a bank account. The investors who bought options paid money or money's worth as consideration to acquire rights to benefits produced by the project. Their option fee was pooled or used in a common enterprise, supposedly to produce financial benefits or benefits consisting of rights or interests in the projects for themselves. The investors did not have day-to-day control over the project. In promoting and operating the project, Bendigo Vineyard Estate Pty Ltd and the other two corporate defendants were expecting to make a profit from the operation of it.
21 The project was not registered as a managed investment scheme under s 601EB of the Corporations Act.
22 While Bendigo Vineyard Estate Pty Ltd and the other two corporate defendants were promoting the project, Mr Jamie McIntyre and Mr Dennis McIntyre were the only directors of those companies and were aware of and facilitated the operation and promotion of the project.
23 The project will not be completed and the options cannot be completed on their terms. None of the holders of options have received any refund of the options fees paid. The liquidators of the three companies operating and promoting this scheme found that the reasons for those entities failing were poor strategic management of the business and/or inadequate cash flow or high cash use. As I understand, it has never been determined where all the money went.
24 Essentially the same course of conduct took place for each of the other four schemes. A total of 152 investors have lost most or all of their money.
25 Additionally, Mr Jamie McIntyre has been a company director and secretary of five companies that were wound up in either 2002 or 2003. All five of those companies were wound up for reasons that included poor financial control, including lack of records, and three of them also for reasons of poor strategic management of the business.
26 In Australian Securities and Investments Commission v 21st Century Academy Pty Ltd (ACN 100 673 818) and Jamie Neville McIntyre (20 June 2005), Merkel J made declarations that 21st Century Academy Pty Ltd, with which Mr Jamie McIntyre was associated, had contravened s 911A of the Corporations Act by arranging, promoting and holding live seminars in Australia to members of the public and publishing and promoting a book by which financial and related advice was given without the required Australian financial services licence. Mr Jamie McIntyre was found to have been knowingly concerned in, and a party to, each of those contraventions and to have provided a financial service on behalf of that company in contravention of s 911B(1) of the Corporations Act.
27 In Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Macro Realty Developments Pty Ltd [2016] FCA 292 handed down on 23 March 2016, Beach J made declarations that between 24 June 2015 and 10 September 2015, the eighth and ninth defendants had contravened s 911A(1) of the Corporations Act by carrying on the business of providing financial services, namely, the provision of financial product advice, by making recommendations or statements of opinion intended to influence people (or which could be reasonably regarded as being intended to have such an influence) in making a decision to acquire, vary or dispose of a financial product.
28 This was done by way of making recommendations and stating opinions at seminars on property investment and to the public and related activities. As already noted, both the natural person defendants were either a shadow director or director of that company.
29 I now turn to the disqualification or banning orders sought.
30 In the very recent decision of Davies J in Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Ostrava Equities Pty Ltd [2016] FCA 1064 at [57] to [60], her Honour referred to prior authority on banning orders, or disqualification orders as they are also known. In particular, there was a list of considerations restated by Gordon J in Registrar of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporations v Murray [2015] FCA 346 at [220], which was quoted and applied. I propose to do the same.
31 Gordon J in Murray listed 15 considerations, as follows, drawn from the prior case of Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Adler [2002] NSWSC 483; (2002) 42 ACSR 80 in which Santow J set out principles applicable to making a disqualification order. Gordon J restated those principles and considerations as follows:
(1) Disqualification orders are designed to protect the public from the harmful use of the corporate structure or from use that is contrary to proper commercial standards.
(2) Disqualification orders are designed to protect the public by seeking to safeguard the public interest in the transparency and accountability of companies and in the suitability of directors to hold office.
(3) Protection of the public also envisages protection of individuals that deal with companies, including consumers, creditors, shareholders and investors.
(4) A disqualification order is protective against present and future misuse of the corporate structure.
(5) The order has a motive of personal deterrence, though it is not punitive.
(6) The objects of general deterrence are also sought to be achieved.
(7) In assessing the fitness of an individual to manage a company, it is necessary that they have an understanding of the proper role of the company director and the duty of due diligence that is owed to the company.
(8) Longer periods of disqualification are reserved for cases where contraventions have been of a serious nature such as those involving dishonesty.
(9) In assessing the appropriate length of prohibition, consideration has been given to the degree of seriousness of the contraventions, the propensity that the defendant may engage in similar conduct in the future and the likely harm that may be caused to the public.
(10) It is necessary to balance the personal hardship to the defendant against the public interest and the need for protection of the public from any repeat of the conduct.
(11) A mitigating factor in considering a period of disqualification is the likelihood of the defendant reforming.
(12) The eight criteria to govern the exercise of the court's powers of disqualification set out in Commissioner for Corporate Affairs (WA) v Ekamper (1987) 12 ACLR 519 are influential. The criteria were character of the offenders, nature of the breaches, structure of the companies and the nature of their business, interests of shareholders, creditors and employees, risks to others from the continuation of offenders as company directors, honesty and competence of offenders, hardship to offenders and their personal and commercial interests and offenders' appreciation that future breaches could result in future proceedings.
(13) Factors which lead to the imposition of the longest periods of disqualification (of 25 years or more), were large financial losses, high propensity that defendants may engage in similar activities or conduct, activities undertaken in fields in which there was potential to do great financial damage, lack of contrition or remorse, disregard for law and compliance with corporate regulations, dishonesty and intent to defraud and previous convictions and contraventions for similar activities.
(14) In cases in which the period of disqualification ranged from 7 to 12 years, the factors included serious incompetence and irresponsibility, substantial loss, defendants had engaged in deliberate courses of conduct to enrich themselves at others' expense, but with lesser degrees of dishonesty, continued, knowing and wilful contraventions of the law and disregard for legal obligations and lack of contrition or acceptance of responsibility, but as against that, the prospect that the individual may reform.
(15) The factors leading to the shortest disqualifications, that is disqualification for up to three years, were although the defendants had personally gained from the conduct, they had endeavoured to repay or partially repay the amounts misappropriated, the defendants had no immediate or discernible future intention to hold a position as a manager of a company and the defendant had expressed remorse and contrition, acted on the advice of professionals and had not contested the proceedings.
32 Looking at those different criteria, I am satisfied that while there is no evidence of dishonesty, the incompetence and serious irresponsibility of Mr Jamie McIntyre and Mr Dennis McIntyre, the disregard for legal obligations and the substantial losses suffered by investors is such that public protection and deterrence, both general and specific, in particular, demands such a lengthy period of disqualification from managing any company. Ten years appears to be entirely within what was contemplated, particularly in the 14th of those 15 categories. In fact, they fall squarely within it.