APT Strategy’s AFCA membership reinstated following Financial Dispute Legal’s successful re-registration proceedings
AFCA has reinstated APT Strategy’s membership for 12 months, reopening the complaints pathway for people who received financial advice from APT Strategy or its authorised representatives. This follows successful Supreme Court proceedings by Financial Dispute Legal, which resulted in ASIC re-registering the company and allowing consumers to once again pursue complaints and potential compensation through AFCA.
People who received financial advice from APT Strategy Pty Ltd (in liquidation) or one of its authorised representatives can now lodge complaints with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).
The reopening of this complaint pathway follows work undertaken by Financial Dispute Legal (FD Legal) to obtain orders from the Supreme Court of Queensland directing the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to re-register APT Strategy as a company.
ASIC re-registered APT Strategy on 2 July 2026. Following the appointment of liquidators, an application was made to reinstate the company’s AFCA membership. On 25 August 2026, the AFCA Board reinstated APT Strategy’s membership for 12 months.
This is a significant development for people who received advice from APT Strategy concerning managed investment schemes operated by Australian Fiduciaries Limited (in liquidation).
Background
APT Strategy was an advice firm that provided consumers with financial advice to enter managed investment schemes operated by Australian Fiduciaries.
Australian Fiduciaries entered liquidation after approximately 600 investors reportedly invested a combined amount of about $160 million. APT Strategy had entered liquidation in March 2024 and was later deregistered by ASIC on 3 January 2025.
The deregistration created a substantial procedural barrier for affected consumers. AFCA can generally consider complaints only against firms that are current AFCA members. Once APT Strategy was deregistered, it could no longer maintain its AFCA membership and AFCA could not accept complaints against it.
This also affected the potential pathway to the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR). The CSLR is separate from AFCA and may provide compensation to eligible consumers who have received an in-scope AFCA determination that the relevant financial firm has not paid.
Without APT Strategy being re-registered and its AFCA membership being reinstated, consumers did not have an available pathway to obtain an AFCA determination against the company.
What FD Legal did
FD Legal commenced proceedings in the Supreme Court of Queensland seeking orders for the re-registration of APT Strategy.
Following the Court’s orders, ASIC re-registered APT Strategy on 2 July 2026 and liquidators were appointed.
Re-registration was the essential first step. It restored APT Strategy’s legal existence and allowed its liquidators to apply to AFCA for reinstatement of the company’s membership.
At the liquidator’s request, the AFCA Board reinstated APT Strategy’s membership with effect from 25 August 2026 for a period of 12 months.
Those steps have now been completed, creating a complaint pathway that was not available while APT Strategy remained deregistered.
Complaints can now be lodged with AFCA
AFCA has confirmed that a person may now submit a complaint if they:
- received financial advice from APT Strategy or one of its authorised representatives; and
- have concerns about that advice.
If you were advised to invest through representatives authorised by APT Strategy, contact Financial Dispute Legal to discuss your circumstances and any potential rights to compensation on enquiry@fdlegal.com.au or 1300 433 533
