On 10 March, InterPrac Financial Planning filed legal action against AFCA over its approach to the Shield and First Guardian scandal, with Sequoia chief executive Garry Crole arguing it’s “just not fair”.
On 28 May, AFCA released an update stating that InterPrac has commenced court proceedings against the complaint’s authority.
“These court proceedings relate to AFCA’s lead determinations involving InterPrac. Court proceedings of this nature can take time and may create uncertainty while the issues are being considered by the court,” the statement said.
While it will continue to accept complaints regarding InterPrac, as well as working on existing cases, AFCA said it won’t be issuing any formal decisions, meaning complainants will have to wait until the court proceedings conclude to find out if their case will be impacted and then to receive any due payment.
“Complaints will continue to progress through AFCA’s complaints process, including registration, allocation to a case worker, information gathering and initial assessment.
“Consumers who have not yet lodged a complaint can still do so and are encouraged to lodge as soon as possible. This ensures their complaint is registered with AFCA and can continue to progress through the investigation process while the court proceedings are underway.
“However, AFCA will not make formal decisions (determinations) while the court proceedings are underway. AFCA will continue to monitor this position and may review it if circumstances change.”
This means the stakes of this court case have become much higher as it could set a decedent for any future cases. According to the latest data, InterPrac has had 978 complaints filed against it in this financial year alone, 866 of which are still in progress, with just $212,700 paid out in compensation, as at 31 March.
“Once the court proceedings have concluded and the relevant issues are resolved,” it continued, “AFCA will update impacted consumers on next steps.”
As for the court case itself, AFCA isn’t the only one set for a showdown with the licensee after it pulled Melinda Kee – a former client turned complainant of the firm – into the mess by naming her as second defendant last week.
Kee had been a client of InterPrac authorised representative Rhys Reilly who had advised her to invest her super primarily into the First Guardian Diversified Strategies investment option within the fund.
After First Guardian collapsed, Kee then lodged a complaint with AFCA in July 2025 and on 10 April 2026 AFCA ruled in her favour. InterPrac was subsequently ordered to pay her $368,093.11 plus interest by 10 May but three days before the deadline, the firm instead named her a defendant in their case against AFCA.
Sharing news of AFCA’s latest update on the Save Our Super Facebook page – which is a support and advocacy group run by Kee – said she had a meeting with the complaint’s authority on the morning of 28 May during which she was informed of the pause on further determinations, a decision for which she offered her “fully support”.
“Importantly, this is not about abandoning investors or delaying just indefinitely. It is about ensuring consumers are not unintentionally caught up in complex Federal Court proceedings or exposed to risks that could ultimately make matters even harder for those already impacted,” Kee said in the post.
“I appreciate the transparency shown in communicating this decision and I encourage everyone to remain calm, informed and constructive as the process continues. The focus should remain on achieving fair outcomes for investors while minimising further harm wherever possible.”
This leaves questions about the moral compass of the Executive and Board of InterPrac. No wonder the share price dropped from 55c to 11c for the parent company Sequoia. Board members with these ethics should be put on notice by the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Trying to phoenix a company, failing to understand their compliance obligations, establishing a Compliance Committee after the fact (this should have already existed), trying government to pay for their failures. Seems the CEO and MD of InterPrac was fast asleep chasing revenue and when caught out failing to have compliance oversight and be the gatekeeper, they point fingers at everyone else. Crole, you failed and no business would trust you ever again as an astute executive.