ASIC Disqualifies Simon Raftery from Managing Corporations
Summary
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has disqualified Simon Raftery from managing corporations for two and a half years due to his involvement in five failed companies. These companies owed approximately $43 million to creditors.
What changed
ASIC has disqualified Simon Raftery from managing corporations for a period of two years and six months. This action stems from his involvement as a director in five failed companies, including Aussie Frozen Fruit Pty Ltd and the In2Food Group, which collectively owed approximately $43 million to unsecured creditors, including significant amounts to trade creditors and employee entitlements. ASIC's decision was based on findings that Mr. Raftery was aware of the insolvency of Aussie Frozen Fruit Pty Ltd during its final six months of trading and that the company incurred further debts during this period.
While Mr. Raftery applied to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) for a review and a stay of the decision, the ART refused his application for stay and confidentiality orders on February 26, 2026. The substantive review application remains ongoing. This disqualification serves as a reminder of the severe consequences for directors found to have mismanaged companies, particularly concerning insolvency and continued debt incurrence. Regulated entities should ensure robust corporate governance practices and timely insolvency management to avoid similar outcomes.
What to do next
- Review director responsibilities and insolvency obligations under the Corporations Act.
- Ensure timely reporting of company insolvency to ASIC.
- Monitor the ongoing ART review for potential precedent-setting decisions.
Penalties
Disqualification from managing corporations for 2 years and 6 months.
Source document (simplified)
Print Share ASIC has disqualified Simon John Raftery, of Burraneer, New South Wales, from managing corporations for a period of 2 years and 6 months, for his involvement in five failed companies.
Between 2019 and 2023, Mr Raftery was a director Aussie Frozen Fruit Pty Ltd (AFF) ACN 629 996 130 and a further four companies referred to as the In2Food Group:
- In2Food (WA) Pty Limited (In2Food WA) ACN 654 116 391
- In2Food (Industrial) Pty Limited (In2Food Industrial) ACN 654 114 913
- In2Food (Manufacturing) Pty Limited (In2Food Manufacturing) ACN 654 113 381, and
- In2Food (Operations) Pty Limited (In2Food Operations) ACN 654 111 476. At the time of ASIC’s decision, the five companies owed approximately $43 million to unsecured creditors.
In2Food Group owed approximately $32.3 million to around 650 unsecured creditors. It also owed more than $330,000 in employee entitlements.
AFF owed approximately $10.4 million to unsecured creditors including $8 million owed to around 184 trade creditors. It also owed $18,720 to the ATO and $148,603 to the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.
In deciding to disqualify Mr Raftery, ASIC found that:
- AAF was insolvent during its final 6 months of trading
- Mr Raftery was aware of the insolvency, and
- The company incurred further additional debts to trade creditors in this time. In disqualifying Mr Raftery, ASIC relied upon supplementary reports lodged by Anthony Jay Miskiewicz of KordaMentha, the liquidator of AFF, and by Todd Andrew Gammel of HLB Mann Judd, the liquidator appointed to In2Food Group.
On 4 July 2025, Mr Raftery applied to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) for a review of ASIC’s disqualification decision, and for stay and confidentiality orders to stay the decision and prevent ASIC from taking steps to publicise it.
On 26 February 2026, the ART refused Mr Raftery’s application for stay and confidentiality orders. The ART’s decision to refuse Mr Raftery’s application for stay and confidentiality orders is viewable here.
The substantive review application before the ART remains ongoing.
Background
In2Food WA, In2Food Industrial, In2Food Manufacturing and In2Food Operations were effectively run as a single enterprise known as In2Food Group (In2Food Group).
Both AFF and In2Food Group were run as two arms of a business under the name of Produce Republic.
AFF operated a business for the processing and production of frozen fruit for retail sale. In2Food Group operated a business which sourced fresh fruit and vegetables for customers and also offered prepared produce for food service, catering, corporate and retail customers.
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
- practicing in the financial services or credit industry.
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