Three liquidators for three intertwined companies
A Judge appointed individual liquidators to three separate companies – OT, AGM and Ozifin – rather than a common liquidator for all of them, even though their affairs were complex and intertwined. This necessitated their joint application to the court for permission to share company and individual information between themselves, including ‘personal information’, in order […]
Winding up a foreign company – Blumenthal’s Tipsy Cake
Tipsy Cake was wound up on 12 February 2020, having had provisional liquidators appointed on 20 December 2019, who then became the liquidators. The company carried on a restaurant business under the name “Dinner by Heston Blumenthal”, a well known cook, in the Crown Casino complex in Melbourne. It is a Part 5.7 body under […]
A not so simple fix for franchise insolvency?
The financial collapse of a franchisor can have a severe impact on its franchisees but a “simple fix” proposed to address that impact may not be simple at all. Those academics and policy makers concerned about the business model of franchises, and its lack of legal protection in such cases, often seek to offer protection […]
Disclosure of business tax debts to credit agencies
Law allowing the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to disclose tax debt information of businesses – corporate and personal, over AU$100,ooo in debt – to registered credit reporting bureaus (CRBs) commenced on 21 February 2020.[1] There is already a similar scheme in New Zealand, with a threshold of NZ$150,000. According to the Australian Explanatory Memorandum ‘this […]
What has happened to the proposed beneficial ownership of shares register?
A review of the ASIC Annual Report 2018 by a parliamentary committee was tabled only in February 2020. The report has a section headed: ‘What has happened to the beneficial ownership of shares register?’ The committee asked ASIC for its view regarding the establishment of a beneficial ownership register, as the report says, ‘to make […]
Cross-border insolvency hearing between Australia and New Zealand
The Federal Court of Australia requested the High Court of New Zealand to help it jointly hear applications on 18 February relating to the pooling of various funds held by the Australian incorporated parent (Halifax AU) and a New Zealand incorporated subsidiary (Halifax NZ). A ‘letter of request’ to that effect was issued by the Federal […]
A review of Australia’s insolvency practitioner regulation system
Given a choice between a good insolvency law and poor practitioners, and good practitioners and a poor insolvency law, the latter is preferred. Australia seems to be working its way towards poverty on both counts, with its insolvency practitioners (IPs) highly and expensively regulated quite at odds with the co-regulatory trends elsewhere. […]
The new law’s limitations in controlling phoenix misconduct
The new anti-phoenix laws, so welcomed in certain quarters, will come up against some business and personal behaviours that are resistant to control and that require more than the usual ‘let’s litigate’ responses. =============== Amidst all the war like chest thumping from regulators, lawyers and liquidators[1] which are marketed as arming our warriors with new […]
Independence of debtors’ chosen liquidators
If directors apply to the court have their company wound up in insolvency, or in fact support an application for winding up, should there be any predisposition against appointing their nominated liquidator? The decision in Avant Garde Investments[1] suggests yes. Receiver F applied under s 459A of the Corporations Act that the company be wound up […]
Three year ‘imprisonment’ for bankruptcy debt
Australia has historically been seen as severe in its approach to unpaid debt and opposition to changing the 3 year period of time before bankruptcy discharge indicates that this sentiment is still strong; unless there are other agenda$ at play. As an example, the colony of Victoria was one of the last jurisdictions in the […]