Rolexes, three diamond rings and gifts forever – sentimental assets in insolvency
I have not updated my 2008 article on sentimental items of property in insolvency, including to check whether Rolex watches are still thrown on to the table at creditors’ meetings; or whether company funds are still used to purchase engagement rings for the director’s intended. Sentiment in insolvency — (2008) 9(2) INSLB 29 Rolex watches […]
Maybe we should just repeal s 588G – insolvent trading?
The law of insolvent trading under s 588G of the Corporations Act seems eternally unsatisfactory and always open to review. It aims to deter proscribed conduct by directors and incentivise their early proactive steps; and in default, to provide creditors with some recompense for their losses. It probably achieves neither of these aims in most […]
Bankruptcy law prevails …
Some time ago, in what may have been a marketing or plain English push, the bankruptcy regulator, AFSA, determined that, for its purposes, the debtor’s petition under s 55 of the Bankruptcy Act and the statement of affairs under s 54 would be consolidated into what was called the “Bankruptcy Form”, glossing over the legislative […]
The benefits of behavioural economics in law reform
In his address at the launch of the Canberra Behavioural Lab, on 28 August 2025, Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury, Dr Andrew Leigh explained the benefits of behavioural economics in working out how humans make decisions – not at all as we might think – in order to help policymakers make informed […]
12,250 personal insolvencies for the year – well down on the 10-year average of 19,500
AFSA has released numbers of new personal insolvencies in the June quarter 2025, totaling 3,179, a 7.9% increase on the 2,947 in the June 2024 quarter. What AFSA does not show clearly is whether the June 2025 monthly figure is higher or lower than May, and what the total is for the 2024-2025 year. Probably […]
UK Official Receiver appointed liquidator of Speciality Steel UK
On 21 August 2025, what is said to be the UK’s third-largest steelworks, Speciality Steel UK Limited (SSUK), has been put into liquidation by order of the High Court. According to the BBC,[1] creditors are owed hundreds of millions of pounds by SSUK, which is part of the Liberty Steel metals empire of Sanjeev Gupta. […]
Gambling or hazardous speculations prior to bankruptcy
AFSA is seeking feedback on draft guidance concerning the offence of gambling or hazardous speculations prior to bankruptcy, under s 271 of the Bankruptcy Act: Practice Guidance (IGPG) on Gambling Offences. Some background might assist. The offence refers to pre-bankruptcy conduct that materially contributed to, or increased the extent of, the bankrupt’s insolvency, or lost […]
Former liquidator – $2.5m – 4/2 years jail
The long awaited, and long, sentencing decision of 13 December 2024 in respect of former liquidator Peter Amos has now been delivered by Tupman DCJ: R v Amos [2024] NSWDC 687. Amos was sentenced to 4 years jail, with 2 years non-parole. He managed to take over $2.5 million from his company administrations over a […]
Galápagos Islands approaches to litigation practice?
In a migration law judgment of the Federal Court handed down on 1 August 2025 in Sydney, Justice Michael Lee opened with the words “There seems to be a deeply entrenched misconception among some practitioners of this Court that migration litigation is some form of Galápagos Island where the ordinary rules do not apply …”, […]
Action already under AFSA’s Regulatory Action Statement 2025-2026
AFSA is already dealing with two issues that it has on its list for attention in its Regulatory Action Statement 2025-2026 – unfair Part X agreements and unauthorised access to trust funds. Part X agreements It seems that the Inspector-General in Bankruptcy has issued a ‘direction’ to the Controlling Trustees for the Part X estate […]
Means to accelerate our ability to share and use data productively
Having myself nearly said enough over the years about the lack of data on the operation of the insolvency system, the Assistant Treasurer in charge of corporate and personal insolvency, the Hon Dr Andrew Leigh, has reported from a roundtable of the Academy of Social Sciences on 30 July 2025 looking at means to accelerate […]
Despite the confusion, costs orders after bankruptcy are provable
It is not that common that Judge A will find that an earlier decision of Judge B of the same court was “plainly wrong” and explain it away because relevant case law of Judge C was not brought to Judge B’s attention, but with Judge A then making that decision without relevant other caselaw of […]
Dealing with assetless estates
An interesting article appears in (2025) International Insolvency Review 1 of INSOL International concerning how different jurisdictions deal with assetless insolvent estates – A comparative study on the compensation of bankruptcy trustees in insolvent estates by R D Vriesendorp and J M W Pool. It seems that one approach in other jurisdictions is to deny […]
Insolvency Law Bulletin – 25 years
Twenty-five years ago, in August 2000,[1] I launched the Insolvency Law Bulletin through Oliver Freeman’s Prospect Media,[2] supported by an eminent editorial panel, joining a number of Freeman’s other legal bulletins. Not long thereafter, he and his publications were bought out by Lexis Nexis. Current quality comment My aim for the bulletin was to provide quality […]
Continuing fall in personal insolvency numbers
Personal insolvency numbers in Australia have continued their decline, with the 1,012 new personal insolvencies in June 2025 falling by 75 from 1,087 in May 2025. Of the new personal insolvencies, 570 were bankruptcies (56%), 427 were Part IX debt agreements (42%), and only 15 (1%) were Part X personal insolvency agreements. There were no […]
The ATO as the real Pt 5.3B ‘small business restructure’ regulator?
Some years ago, I wrote an article entitled The ATO as an insolvency regulator,[1] suggesting that with the various insolvency activating powers then available to the Australian Taxation Office, it was the real regulator of the system, not ASIC. That was even before its increased powers given in 2012. That regulatory role has continued, in […]
$93m? and 300 creditors? over 20 years? Director disqualified
ASIC has disqualified a director from managing corporations for 5 years in relation to companies trading for over 20 years that were wound up with debts of over $93 million owing to the ATO, State Revenue, DEWR and FEG, and many others. 25-140MR ASIC disqualifies NSW construction director for five years | ASIC For over […]
Have corporate rescue laws gone too far? Sydney Law School seminar review
This reports on a review by Dr Arthur Emmett, former Federal Court Judge, of a Sydney Law School seminar questioning whether aspects of the corporate rescue regime under the Corporations Act 2001 have “gone too far”, including Part 5.3A and Part 5.3B, in assisting struggling businesses. The seminar was conducted through the Ross Parsons Centre […]
Court approval of agreements over 3 months?!
Any productivity review of the insolvency system in Australia would find many opportunities to reduce time and costs, in particular in corporate insolvency. This is one of them. In the context of the current government focus on productivity, this comment of 2024 about the uselessness of s 477(2A) and (2B) is re-posted. Litigation Funding in […]
The interaction of insolvency law and competition policy
My recent article in the Insolvency Law Bulletin concerns what has been described as the clash between market competition policy and insolvency restructuring or ‘rescue’ law, such as under Parts 5.3A or 5.3B of the Corporations Act. See The interaction of insolvency law and competition policy (2025) 23(9&10) INSLB 75. I think I can safely […]
Small business – Qué?
Many small businesses seem to operate with the owners oblivious to the legal structure through which they conduct their business. The legal definition hardly seems relevant. It is only when insolvency hits that a business owner might think – “hang on, if I’ve got a company – I suppose I’d better check that – what’s […]
A quiet insolvency scene in small business
The new Minister for Small Business, the Hon Dr Anne Aly MP, will be interested in the latest insolvency figures from ASIC and AFSA, and other news about that sector. ASIC’s corporate quarterly insolvency update, issue 36, of June 2025, indicates a quiet insolvency scene, as does AFSA’s bankruptcy statistics update. Disparate law reform is […]
Bankruptcies on a continued decline
Bankruptcy and other personal insolvency numbers look like falling below those of last year, and well below the long-term average. AFSA has advised that “personal insolvencies increased in May 2025”, over April, by 14. That is, there were 1,087 new personal insolvencies in May, rising from 1,073 in April 2025. Of these, 620 were bankruptcies, […]
Legislating in the dark – continued – IMF Report
The 2023 Parliamentary Joint Committee Report on Corporate Insolvency called for the collection and analysis of data in advance of any law reform. The Committee had regard to a 2019 working paper of the IMF, The Use of Data in Assessing and Designing Insolvency Systems, which warned of legislating “in the dark”, risking law reforms […]