Keay’s Insolvency – a Short History
The 12th edition of what has become “Keay’s Insolvency” has just been issued. I’d like to briefly explain the history of the text which provides
02/11/2026
Sole trader in bankruptcy for 3 years, but at least she had 28 days to respond
Why are we looking at minor reforms in bankruptcy when provisions in the Bankruptcy Act described as fictitious, artificial and antiquated lie untouched? And why
28/10/2026
Domestic violence and abuse as a defence to director mismanagement
Some years ago there was an unfortunate and unsuccessful defence made by a director of a company that she did not take part in the
27/10/2026
Abandoned companies … zzz
Among all the information in ASIC’s 2024-25 annual report is the fact that ASIC appointed 10 liquidators to wind up abandoned companies under s 489EA
22/10/2026
Lawyers in an AI World; and Judges …
The terms AI, Claude, Dart and more need no introduction nowadays and I could not give it anyway – but an excellent and well informed
20/10/2026
Are there more insolvencies than the figures reveal?
The Reserve Bank of Australia’s October 2026 Financial Stability Review provides an assessment of the current resilience of the financial system and potential risks to
06/10/2026
ASIC’s focus on gender
As with AFSA, ASIC has now responded to the 2021 “diversity” reforms by focusing on gender balance in the pool of 650 registered liquidators. It
03/10/2026
Court delays and human dignity
“In passing”, in a recent judgment, Justice Ian Jackman has criticised delays in judgments being delivered, going back to a 2013 decision, as an example,
02/10/2026
Public interest funding for external administrations? depends on how
The Bathla Group insolvencies has prompted ARITA to highlight what it says is “a longstanding issue for Australia’s insolvency system: significant external administrations involve substantial
16/09/2026
High Court special leave to appeal – rights of review in bankruptcy
The High Court of Australia has granted special leave to appeal from the Full Federal Court on the question whether rights of review of a
15/09/2026
Bankruptcy numbers; bankruptcy reform
The numbers of personal insolvencies in 2025-2026 (13,465) have increased from those in 2024-25 (12,257) but they still remain low, compared with the 32,000 of
30/08/2026
A US colleague in the Sydney Marathon
I do not normally cover sport on my website but I make an exception in this case because of the person involved and her significant
28/08/2026
Diversity beyond gender in insolvency practice
The law was changed in 2021 to allow greater flexibility for a selection committee to allow a person to be considered suitable to be registered
28/08/2026
Business reporting requirements – Productivity Commission inquiry
The government has asked that the Productivity Commission to undertake an inquiry into opportunities to improve the efficiency and value of non-financial business reporting requirements
26/08/2026
Who is to operate and fund insolvencies?
A threshold issue in relation to the design and operation of any insolvency regime is as to who operates it and with what funds. Insolvency
18/08/2026
A funded preference claim with no outcome for unsecured creditors
A preference claim of liquidators against the Commissioner of Taxation (ATO) under s 588FA of the Corporations Act was assigned to litigation funders under section
10/08/2026
Government delays in responding to law reform reports
The delay in the federal government responding to the 2023 PJC Report on Corporate Insolvency until now, over 3 years later, and then half-heartedly, is
08/08/2026
Insolvency law reform – now patiently awaiting the Productivity Commission
Despite government responses to parliamentary committee reports being required within three months we now have a government response to the July 2023 Parliamentary Joint Committee
07/08/2026
Moving
Michael Murray and Murrays Legal have moved Our new address is The Commons – Mezzanine Level | 388 George St | Sydney, 2000 mobile 0402
02/08/2026
Association of Independent Insolvency Practitioners – annual conference 2026
I was pleased to have been invited to contribute at two sessions at the AIIP annual conference in Canberra on 23-24 July 2026. The regulation
02/08/2026
Insolvency regulation – of the practitioners, and the regulators?
Revised 17.7.26 Insolvency practitioner regulation has had its annual review in the UK under a co-regulatory regime that Australia thought not viable here. We have
16/07/2026
Firm regulation of insolvency practitioners
Insolvency practitioners (IPs) are regulated as individuals, not through their firm. In fact, the practitioner’s independence within the firm is required, as to the retention
30/06/2026
“Bankruptcy on a Budget” – what’s going on in the Netherlands is relevant here
An interesting article on Dutch bankruptcy law by respected insolvency academic Dr Jessie Pool[1] at Leiden University, and what she terms “empty estate insolvencies”, or
24/06/2026
Legislative evidence of a barrier to business dynamism – s 588GAAC?
There must be some irony in the government asking the Productivity Commission, on the one hand, to inquire into “barriers to business dynamism”, one barrier
21/06/2026