The 2020 insolvency practitioner codes
New insolvency practitioner codes have issued in Australia, with the UK and NZ perhaps not far behind. It remains to see whether the codes are adaptable enough to reflect what is a changing business and professional environment and thereby to remain relevant and accepted. The international accounting Code of Ethics – APES 110 in Australia […]
Ombudsman’s insolvency inquiry and the nature of small business debt
The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman has written a newspaper article about the ‘Insolvency Practices Inquiry’ in the context of the impact of the bushfires on small to medium business enterprises [SMEs] in Australia, writing that “[t]he bleak reality is that many of these small businesses will not survive … while others will […]
Bankrupt’s continued liability for costs
A court has refused parties’ request to retrospectively make an order for costs to avoid the consequences of a time limitation in bankruptcy. An order by a court that a person pay costs is a provable debt in that person’s bankruptcy only if the order is made before the date of the bankruptcy, even if […]
Insolvency R&B law reform ideas
While the ASBFE Ombudsman, ARITA and others are looking at insolvency law reform, including for SMEs, they will no doubt consider some root and branch ideas offered by Professor Helen Anderson, in particular in her 2018 article – Insolvency – it’s all about the money.[1] Without doing justice at all to her ideas, based on […]
Insolvency data sharing and access?
A number of academics, including myself, made a submission to the Data Commissioner’s Data Sharing and Release Legislative Reforms Discussion Paper in late 2019. One aim of the work being done by the Commissioner is to modernise how the government shares its data in order to support development of good policy and programs and well […]
Winding up a company for a $1,000 debt
” … the issue of proportionality between the amount of indebtedness and the deployment of an application to wind up a debtor company is one for the creditor and liquidator. Absent the prospect of an abuse of the court’s processes, the issue of proportionality is not a relevant consideration for the court in the determination […]
An insolvency safe harbour in New Zealand?
As Australia is about the review the first two years of operation of its 2017 safe harbour reforms,[1] New Zealand is looking at introducing the same type of reforms as a means of lessening the negative impact of its own insolvent trading laws. The Companies (Safe Harbour for Insolvent Trading) Amendment Bill, is a private […]
Murrays Legal closes on 31 December 2019 and reopens on 1 January 2020
As to which, readers will be aware that “[t]he beginning of a day is nothing but the end of the day before, and the end of the day is nothing but the beginning of the next …”: Prowse v McIntyre [1961] HCA 789; and “[t]hus all beginnings of days and all ends of days fall […]
Why didn’t someone do something? the obligation to whistleblow
There is a current focus on whistleblowing as being one means whereby unlawfulness can be controlled. But what can be a voluntary and sometimes difficult choice to whistleblow may in fact constitute a legal or professional obligation to do so. Whether that be formally ‘whistleblowing’, the same purpose is achieved, the reporting of unlawful conduct. […]
Disclaimer of litigation funding agreement
While a trustee was ready to continue the bankrupt’s litigation claim, he was not willing to use the bankrupt’s litigation funder with its premium of over 80% and control over the proceedings. The court allowed the trustee to disclaim the agreement. Before his bankruptcy, Mr Tonner had secured litigation funding with a funder – GT […]