The Halcyon Isle resurrected – the law applicable to maritime liens

In a case involving “an important issue for the operation of maritime law in this country” a 5 member bench of the Federal Court has overruled an adventurous decision by a single judge to re-determine a long-contentious issue about the law applicable to maritime liens: Ship “Sam Hawk” v Reiter Petroleum Inc [2016] FCAFC 26. Maritime […]

Liquidators riding a remuneration merry-go-round

The commentaries on how the judges assess, or should assess, the remuneration of liquidators is reaching saturation point, one practitioner likening it to being on a merry-go round – not only between percentage, time and outcome billing methods, but also between state and federal courts. The concept of “proportionality” in assessing the reasonableness of insolvency remuneration is […]

Hanjin Shipping – an Australian perspective

The appointment of a receiver to the large South Korean Hanjin Shipping Line has had an impact in Australia, with parties before the Federal Court last week, 16 September, in relation to the arrest of the ‘Hanjin California,’ presently moored in Sydney Harbour.  For legal reasons, one arrest claim was not successful.    Hanjin’s receiver […]

Insolvency practitioners’ duties of neutrality

Liquidators and administrators, and trustees, when their appointments are challenged, have a duty of neutrality, to provide relevant facts to parties, and to the court, in order for the concern about the challenge to be determined on its merits. The voluntary administrator’s appointment in Condor Blanco was successfully challenged, and some legal guidance was given […]

Another life insurance inquiry – respond by 18 November…..

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services is to report by 30 June 2017 on: the need for further reform and improved oversight of the life insurance industry; assessment of relative benefits and risks to consumers of the different elements of the life insurance market, being direct insurance, group insurance and ‘retail advised’ […]

Remuneration of liquidators: Idylic Solutions, Templeton revisited – more of the same?

Judges’ inconsistency of approach in determining the remuneration of corporate insolvency practitioners is continuing. The respective state and federal courts have been ignoring each others’ decisions such that no inconsistency can be said to even arise. When this happened before, as I have explained, the High Court intervened, as school headmaster, to bring into line […]

Single touch payroll – on its way into law

The Senate Standing Committee on Economics has given a report on the Budget Savings (Omnibus) Bill 2016 and has endorsed the Bill’s provisions for single touch payroll. The Committee reported: 5.35    Single Touch Payroll (STP) reporting is designed to reduce the compliance costs for employers meeting their Pay as you go (PAYG) withholding obligations by using Standard […]

Consistency in judicial decisions – Marlborough Gold Mines revisited

A rather unsatisfactory situation is developing in the nation’s federal and state superior courts in their exercise of shared jurisdiction under the Corporations Act. This concerns the way that these courts determine the remuneration of corporate insolvency practitioners, about which too much has already been written.  There is not only an inconsistency of approach, but the respective […]

QUT insolvency expertise

QUT is holding its international personal insolvency conference in Brisbane tomorrow and Friday – 8-9 September 2016 – with speakers presenting from the US, the UK, Europe, China, South Africa, Japan, New Zealand and more. Leading names in insolvency include Professors Jay Westbrook (US), Iain Ramsay (UK) and Ian Ramsay (Melbourne), along with Professor Rosalind […]

Price signalling in corporate restructuring

In its major review of competition law, the government proposes to remove the price signaling provisions in the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. These provisions, introduced in 2012, had some potential for impact on bank syndicates working on the restructure of a failing or insolvent business, by way of proscribing collective discussions – see s […]

Single touch payroll – disrupting the way things have been done

Single-touch payroll (STP) legislation was introduced into federal parliament on 31 August 2016 through the government’s Budget Savings (Omnibus) Bill 2016.  This law would eventually remove unfair reliance by business on what is often said to be “Australia’s largest bank” – the ATO – and lessen the extent to which the ATO is, as at […]

Gaps and weaknesses in our system of financial regulation

The government is yet to respond to weaknesses in our laws that deal with the financial distress or collapse of financial institutions – banks, insurers, life companies and more. Some of these weaknesses and gaps were identified over 5 years ago and were the subject of a major government consultation paper in 2012. In 2015, […]

Consolidated version of the new Bankruptcy Act 1966

CCH is publishing a consolidated version of the Bankruptcy Act 1966 as amended by the Insolvency Law Reform Act 2016. The amended law does not commence until 2017 but given the substantial changes being made, this publication will allow preparation and familiarity with the law many months before for the expected commencement dates.  As we […]

Condor Blanco – three useful propositions

This decision in Condor Blanco Mines Ltd [2016] NSWSC 1196 is important for three propositions: In general, it is not part of a voluntary administrator’s responsibility, in deciding to take an appointment or later assessing its the validity, to delve into any improper purpose or motive of the directors beyond that of using Part 5.3A as a response […]

Inquiries x 3: small business lending; external dispute resolution; financial ombudsman service

1. Inquiry into small business lending practices The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman will undertake an inquiry into concerns raised by the Parliamentary Joint Committee (PJC) on Corporations and Financial Services in its report, Impairment of Customer Loans.  That report, tabled on 4 May 2016, made a number of recommendations including this reference […]