ASIC has disqualified Mr Rudolph Karel Jansen, of Trentham, Victoria, from managing corporations for the maximum period of five years due to his involvement in the failure of four companies.  

Between January 2000 and February 2018 Mr Jansen was the director of four companies:

• Hygrade Cutting Formes Co. Pty Ltd ACN 004 880 988 (HCF);
• Laser Dies Australasia Pty Ltd ACN 090 857 524 (Laser Dies);
• Hygrade Group Pty Ltd ACN 607 402 782 (Hygrade Group); and
• Hygrade Management & Software Pty Ltd ACN 133 366 453 (HMS).

All of the companies were involved in the laser and water cutting industry.

ASIC found that Mr Jansen:

• lodged false documents with ASIC that appointed individuals as directors of HCF and HMS without their consent in an attempt to avoid the personal liability associated with the company’s significant superannuation and taxation debts while he continued to manage the companies without being recorded as a director on the corporate register;
• failed to take all reasonable steps to secure compliance by HMS with its obligation to keep written financial records;
• failed to comply with HMS’s statutory obligations to lodge Business Activity Statements or Income Tax Returns with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO);
• failed to comply with HMS’s statutory obligations to make Pay As You Go (PAYG) payments to the ATO or payments to employee’s superannuation funds; and
• failed to prevent HMS from incurring debt totalling approximately $1,058,865 when the company was most likely insolvent.

At the time of ASIC’s decision, the four companies owed a combined total of $8,042,160 to unsecured creditors, including $2,453,678 owing to the Australian Taxation Office.

In disqualifying Mr Jansen, ASIC relied on supplementary reports lodged by HCF’s liquidators Gess Rambaldi and David Vasudevan of Pitcher Partners and HMS’s liquidators David Vasudevan and Andrew Yeo of Pitcher Partners. ASIC assisted the liquidators of HMS to prepare their report by providing funding from the Assetless Administration Fund.  

Mr Jansen is disqualified from managing corporations until 24 November 2027.

Mr Jansen 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. 

The new director ID requirement will help address misconduct such as appointment of directors without their consent. Had the provisions been in place during the period Mr Jansen lodged the false appointment forms with ASIC, the individuals who Mr Jansen alleged had been appointed would have been required to personally apply for a director ID and have their identity verified prior to their appointment.

More information about director ID is on ASIC’s website.