ASIC has disqualified building and construction industry director Desley Soong of Concord, NSW, from managing corporations for two years after her involvement in three failed companies.  

For various periods between 1970 and 2020, Mrs Soong was a director of three companies operating in the building and construction industry: 

• Wyreach Pty Ltd (ACN 002 388 178),  
• ACN 000 842 606 Pty Ltd (formerly Fyna Constructions (Hire and Sales) Pty Ltd), and 
• Span Form Pty Ltd (ACN 169 669 881).  

ASIC found that Mrs Soong failed to exercise her powers and discharge her duties with the requisite degree of care and diligence by;  

• allowing all three companies to accumulate Australian Taxation Office (ATO) debts, 
• allowing Span Form to accumulate a payroll tax debt with the Office of State Revenue-NSW, 
• failing to ensure Fyna and Span Form maintained adequate books, including lodgement of business activity statements and taxation returns with ATO, and 
• allowing Span Form to continue to trade whilst insolvent.  

The total amount owed to unsecured creditors is $8.1 million, including $1.9 million owed to ATO and $384,934 owed to Office of State Revenue - NSW. 

In disqualifying Mrs Soong, ASIC relied on reports lodged by the liquidator for Wyreach and Span Form, Darren Vardy of SV Partners, and Fyna’s liquidator, Stephen Hathway of Helm Advisory.  

Mrs Soong is disqualified from managing corporations until 2 June 2024.  

Mrs Soong has the right to seek a review of ASIC’s decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. 

Background 

Section 206F of the Corporations Act allows ASIC to disqualify a person from managing corporations for a maximum period of five years if, within a seven year period, the person was an officer of two or more companies, and those companies were wound up and a liquidator provides a report to ASIC about each of the company’s inability to pay its debts. 

ASIC maintains a banned and disqualified persons register that provides information about people who have been disqualified from: 

• involvement in the management of a corporation; 
• auditing self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs); or 
• practising in the financial services or credit industry. 

ASIC can also provide financial assistance to liquidators to prepare a supplementary report by providing funding from the Assestless Administration Fund.