Who owns, and owes, what in a typical incorporated small business?
The regular insolvency statistics have been released by ASIC (corporate) and AFSA (personal), but with a current focus on insolvency reform for small business, we are now facing the reality of past and current inaction in have adequate data to direct meaningful reform. ASIC reports that, of 3,619,913 registered companies, 3,556 companies entered external administration […]
Bankruptcy’s ‘minimal asset procedure’ – mmmmm
In light of the eminent group usefully being convened in Melbourne tomorrow, 12 December 2025, to discuss what is proposed as a “minimal asset procedure”, offering a one year of bankruptcy restrictions and stigma to those with minimal assets and debts, I re-read my views in Reforms to Australian personal insolvency law — (2024) 23(3&4) INSLB 20. […]
A corporate rescue regime should reflect some alignment with economic efficiency?
In order to stir comments on a forthcoming talk that I was giving on the law and economics of insolvency (wait for my one on discharge from bankruptcy) I set out a fictional dialogue between an insolvency lawyer and an economist – A lawyer and an economist walk into a bar…. – Murrays Legal – […]
New criteria for corporate restructuring?
I was pleased to have presented some ideas on ‘filtering mechanisms’ for corporate restructuring at the annual insolvency academics network (IAN) gathering at Sydney Law School on 2 December 2025. IAN comprises eminent academic and professional colleagues from Australia, New Zealand and Asia. My talk followed up from my presentation on the conflict between insolvent […]
A lawyer and an economist walk into a bar….
In preparing for a presentation before eminent insolvency law academics I thought I would test my thinking by presenting to an equally eminent economics colleague, knowing that she might challenge some of my thinking. I’ve always found such a process to be useful in prompting responses that might not always come from one’s group, to […]
A government perspective on insolvency law reform
Dr Andrew Leigh is probably the first minister to oversee both personal and corporate insolvency, following the transfer of personal from Attorney-General’s to Treasury in May 2025. This provides a real opportunity to review the insolvency system as a whole, based upon the broader legal, economics, and systems recommendations of the 2023 PJC Report. At […]
How were moneys stolen by a liquidator and a trustee?
Back in 2010 the criminal misconduct of a liquidator led to a Senate inquiry and a recommendation for a new regulatory regime and a single regulator. Today, significant defalcations by liquidator Amos and bankruptcy trustee Leroy don’t seem to be having the same law reform impact. With adjournments finally coming to an end on 12 […]
World Bank’s 2026 B-Ready review of Australian business insolvency and other laws
Next year, 2026, Australia will be the subject of a review by the World Bank under its new B-Ready assessment process. See my earlier report on this: World Bank’s B-Ready Report on country business systems, including on the efficiency of corporate insolvency systems – Murrays Legal B-Ready replaces the World Bank’s Doing Business Index, a […]
Personal insolvencies in September 2025 – a slow rise
Personal insolvencies increased marginally in September 2025, by 74, over last month – that is, there were 1,169 new personal insolvencies in September, up from 1,095 in August, and higher than the 1,025 in September 2024. Of these, 635 were bankruptcies, 505 were debt agreements, 27 were personal insolvency agreements and 2 were insolvent deceased […]
Ways to deregister a company
While ASIC reports its success in having a former company director convicted for trying to deregister his building company without disclosing it had a large debt owing, many companies are deregistered without the directors saying anything all. ASIC reports that a former company director has been convicted for trying to deregister his building company without […]
Acronymic insolvency reform options – PJC not CAMAC
Those lawyers wanting a restoration of CAMAC to sort out the complexity of the Corporations Act can leave Chapter 5 – External Administration alone, it having recently had its own review by the PJC. In fact, the PJC’s drawing on disciplines beyond the law, and its readiness to see insolvency more broadly than its limited […]
Gamblers, alcoholics and bankrupts as beneficiaries under a will
Stigma surrounding the word “bankruptcy” continues, evident from negative terms with which it is often connected – treason (in the Australian Constitution)[1], sexual offending (aged care), and fraud, being some. And bankruptcy has meanings beyond its legal meaning, as in moral bankruptcy and bankrupt of ideas, and negative connotations beyond. But I have not seen […]
Arbitration and insolvency – an arbitration week seminar
I was pleased to attend a panel session at Norton Rose Fulbright on 15 October 2025 – Breaking bread: slicing through the ‘inherent tension’ between cross-border insolvency and arbitration in the Asia-Pacific. Panelists were the Hon James Allsop AC, Scott Atkins (Norton Rose), Emily Tillett (Burford Capital), and Kei-Jin Chew (Ascendant Legal Singapore), chaired by […]
Corporate Restructuring, by Dr James O’Donovan
I am pleased to have received a copy of Corporate Restructuring, by Dr James O’Donovan, a 2,042 page book on the law concerning the ‘restructuring’ of companies operating a business. In its 39 chapters, the book covers small corporate business restructuring, simplified liquidation, voluntary administration and deeds of company arrangement, schemes of arrangement, and associated […]
ASIC’s 60 liquidators to wind up how many abandoned companies?
ASIC reports that it has appointed 60 suitably qualified and experienced liquidators to its Abandoned Company Liquidator Panel, effective from 6 July 2025. This follows the conclusion of the previous Panel’s term, which was in place from July 2018 to July 2025. ASIC Corporate Insolvency Update – Issue 37 | ASIC Sixty is a big […]
A controversial bankruptcy, from the archives – Alan Bond
The bankruptcy of Alan Bond in the 1990s generated outraged sentiment and language which we may not feel and use today. My article at the time refers to judicial comments about bankrupts’ “lifestyles of undiminished splendour” leaving their creditors “lamenting”, contrasted with another judge being reassured in seeing the family and friends of a bankrupt […]
A big bankruptcy
In explaining the consequences of bankruptcy for an individual, Keay’s Insolvency, 11th ed, [4.15] refers to the positive outcome for debtors of “the relief from responsibility for their provable debts and from the claims and pursuit by creditors”, and that this is the case “whether the debts be $20,000 or $20 million …”. This upper amount might […]
Jailing for criminal bankruptcy conduct – in 2011
Both AFSA and the Australian Federal Police have issued ‘media releases’ about the sentencing of a lawyer to jail for perverting the course of justice and obtaining a financial advantage by deception, for which an overall sentence of 3 years’ imprisonment was imposed with a minimum of 1 year. DPP (Cth) v Voitin [2025] VCC […]
Insolvency statistics – steady
New personal insolvencies across Australia increased 5.3% in 2024-25, to 12,257 up from 11,644 in 2023–24. Business related personal insolvencies accounted for over 28% of these, although well over 40% of bankruptcies. New company insolvencies increased 33.2%, to 14,722, from the 11,053 companies recorded in 2023–24. In context: The 12,257 personal insolvencies come from an […]
Confidential settlement of an insolvent trading claim – why?
It would be an act of both supererogation and superfluity to superimpose observations on this synthesis. The Federal Court has approved under s 477(2B) of the Corporations Act a settlement reached by liquidators as to claims made against a former director under ss 588G and 588M and against the relevant holding company under ss 588V […]
A judge’s decision might be just “wrong” – no need to add “vituperative epithets”
In a recent patents law case, concerning veterinary pharmaceuticals, and processes for determining the novelty of a process the subject of a patent application, Justice Ian Jackman declined to follow the reasoning in a 2005 decision of Justice Emmett, saying that single judges of the Federal Court are not bound by decisions of previous single […]
New Directions in Bankruptcy 1989-2004 – on AustLII
Those of a certain vintage with an interest in bankruptcy may remember New Directions in Bankruptcy, a publication of the then bankruptcy regulator ITSA from 1989 to 2004. It came out quarterly in hard copy and contained articles both from the regulator and lawyers and trustees and others interested. AustLII has now uploaded all of […]
Insolvency practitioner regulation – 20++ adjournments later
The Paul Leroy former bankruptcy trustee “millions of dollars in missing funds” matter in the Federal Court continues, and continues, through so many adjourned court listings since February 2024 when proceedings were commenced against him. It may be that he can’t be located …. On 18 September, Justice O’Callaghan ordered that yet another case management […]
The use of data – when we can get it – in shaping law reform
Treasury Minister Dr Andrew Leigh has spoken of the merits and the need for data to assist in shaping government policy and action, given in a speech to the Public Sector Data Sharing Network on 16 September 2025 – Data without borders: sharing for smarter policy, Address to the Public Sector Data Sharing Network | […]