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
Anti-money laundering guidance for insolvency practitioners …
How designated services apply to insolvency practitioners | AUSTRAC This guidance from AUSTRAC explains how Anti-Money Laundering obligations under the AML Act 2006 will require
20/06/2026
Family disputes and a lack of trust
Family disputes can be very unpleasant and perhaps in particular when they arise from family members being left out of a will or there are
17/06/2026
Australian Productivity
Interesting comments from our Productivity Commission chair Danielle Wood are going the rounds about our low economic productivity, with Australians’ risk appetite, or lack of
15/06/2026
Anti-money laundering and insolvency – who pays?
I was closely involved with the introduction of the anti-money laundering legislation back in 2008 that included the first tranche of bodies to be subject
10/06/2026
Insolvency aspects of the Productivity Commission’s Business Dynamism Inquiry
In its inquiry into barriers to business dynamism, the Productivity Commission has now called for submissions on a range of issues, due by 3 July
02/06/2026
Not cricket
Moving away from cricket [below, 2025], High Court Justice Robert Beech-Jones’ recent speech – Griffith Country, seeking to uphold the legacy of Sir Samuel Griffith
26/05/2026
Coercive control claim in a bankruptcy
A woman made bankrupt in 2022 was unsuccessful in having her bankruptcy annulled under s 153B of the Bankruptcy Act on the basis that the
22/05/2026
Royal Commission into Antisemitism
The Royal Commission has yet to explain the why of antisemitism, the reasons for it, “infantile” as they might be, but with 16,278 submissions having
19/05/2026
A productivity focused insolvency inquiry
The government has referred a productivity inquiry to the Productivity Commission – Regulatory barriers to business dynamism, one factor to be examined being “the design,
13/05/2026
Insolvency law reform – some views
With the 3 year anniversary of Australia’s 2023 Parliamentary Joint Committee Report on Corporate Insolvency coming up,[1] and with the World Bank to make its
07/05/2026