Case and statute law
Fees of insolvency practitioners and lawyers
The commentary following was issued on 15 August 2021. It is reissued for historic interest only, perhaps, on the assumption ...
ASIC’s civil penalty regime – an academic review
In the midst of a focus on the enforcement activity of ASIC following a critical Senate Committee report,[1] we have ...
$364k mistakenly paid by the ATO to a company in liquidation – retain or return?
In a recent case,[1] C88 Project Pty Ltd, a liquidator was ordered by the Court to return tax moneys of $364,267 ...
Bankruptcy and mental ill health
Justice John Logan of the Federal Court has raised some interesting issues in an otherwise straightforward bankruptcy judgment concerning the ...
Insolvency practitioners as employees
Updated on 5 March 2024 to refer to a 1996 Explanatory Memorandum in bankruptcy which says that, despite the case law, ...
New corporate definitions of director, officer and asset
Following the ALRC’s work on Ch 7 of the Corporations Act, attention has already been given to legislative changes tidying ...
The new Administrative Review Tribunal and law for the relief of insolvent debtors
On 7 December 2023, the government introduced legislation that would abolish the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) and establish what it ...
A winding up vs an administration – s 440A(2)
The situation where a creditor applies for a winding up of a company under the Corporations Act, and while that ...
Law reform – small business redundancy exemption removed
Among the many changes introduced by the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Act 2023 are those in Schedule 1 ...
The AFCA financial complaints scheme and bankruptcy – no appeal
Further to my case comment below, AFSA has, belatedly, advised that it is not appealing this decision of Justice Rares ...
NOCLAR – accountants’ reporting of offences
Some while ago, I took an interest in the professional obligation that accountants decided to impose on themselves to respond ...
NZ insolvency practitioner sanctioned
A sanction of a New Zealand liquidator for the poor handling of his matters provides an illustration of New Zealand’s ...
Australia has some of the longest lag times between employees being paid and taxes being remitted
This is a short historical background to the increasing non- or late payment of tax mainly by small businesses – ...
Bankruptcy Act restructure – when statements of affairs are accepted
AFSA advises that the Bankruptcy Amendment (Discharge from Bankruptcy) Act 2023 (Cth), came into force on Thursday 23 November 2023. ...
Insolvent trading in context
Insolvent trading is one of the many items for review recommended by the Parliamentary Joint Committee report on Corporate Insolvency. ...
Bankruptcy by mistake – who pays?
What started out as a minor dispute over plumbing work for $2,880 descended into the plumber obtaining a judgment for ...
“Related parties par excellence – company controlled by a wife on the one hand and the husband on the other”
When you are employed by your spouse’s company, and you attempt to resist bankruptcy based on your remuneration and support ...
Rights to appeal – some limits?
In dealing with an unmeritorious bankruptcy law appeal, a Federal Court Judge has made a suggestion to limit appeal rights ...
Voluntary administrators removed as NZ interim liquidators of debtor on independence grounds
Following the appointment by the New Zealand High Court of Australian voluntary administrators of Probis as New Zealand interim liquidators ...
Insolvent Trading and Minimal Returns to Creditors in Liquidations
This is a brief response to a well-researched and thoughtful article by Associate Professor Mark Wellard – Insolvent Trading: Director ...
The cross-border regulation of insolvency practitioners – insights from INSOL Tokyo
I was invited to present at the INSOL International Academic Colloquium on 12 September 2023 in Tokyo on the panel ...
Public interest supports time extension for insolvency recovery action
Litigation claims brought by insolvency practitioners (IPs) are not like the usual commercial claims on behalf of a commercial, or ...
Australian voluntary administrators appointed as New Zealand interim liquidators
In Insolvency licensing bodies confirmed for New Zealand’s new regulatory regime – Murrays Legal, of August 2020, I explained the ...
ASIC v Jones [GD Pork] – insolvency practitioner independence and pre-insolvency advice
A court decision concerning insolvency practitioner independence and pre-insolvency advice usefully raises issues recommended for law reform review by the ...
