Case and statute law

The costs of lawyer litigants – ‘Chorley’ off to the High Court

Some important cases in legal history have involved small amounts of money, in particular where the matter is pursued as ...

Opportunistic and manipulative insolvency practitioners?

Insolvency practitioners’ (IP) remuneration for the work performed in administering an insolvent estate attracts public attention, much of which is ...

Professional body regulation of Australian insolvency practitioners

Having reviewed the current regulation of insolvency practitioners (IPs) by both ASIC and AFSA, ARITA is now examined, and to ...

Bankruptcy trustees’ performance 2017-2018

AFSA’s Personal Insolvency Compliance Report 2017-2018 may be rather welcome in its positive reporting of its findings in relation to ...

273 vexatious claims against “to name a few, her Majesty the Queen, as the [251st] cross-respondent …

A bankrupt vexatious litigant, Garrett, could not start court actions because of his vexatious status. Instead he managed to lodge ...

Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency – its procedural limitations

The Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency is not quite as expansive in its assistance to foreign liquidators and trustees as ...

Revised draft of Australia’s 2014 insolvency code of practice

ARITA has released a consultation draft of its Code of Professional Practice for Insolvency Practitioners. This will be the 4th ...

Trial decisions pending a High Court appeal in Amerind

It can be legally difficult to determine what the law is when a significant legal issue is on appeal, leaving ...

New draft version of APES 330 – Insolvency Services

APESB has issued a long-awaited revision of its insolvency code – APES 330 Insolvency Services – with a view to ...

Liquidators – spending money to justify spending money

Charging a second fee to justify charging an initial fee might seem odd but this can be the case when ...

Judicial responsibility for a company’s collapse, and other ‘guns to the head’.

Judges make important decisions about the legal rights of parties in dispute.  If the private parties agree, orders by consent ...

Treasury Laws Amendment (Measures for a later sitting) Bill 2018: Miscellaneous amendments

The law reform process of going through a piece of legislation and picking up minor errors is useful and necessary ...

Insolvency law – assets and liabilities, activities and affairs – ASIC and AFSA

ASIC has released its new Report On Company Activities and Property (ROCAP), said to have been the result of an ...

ASIC’s liquidator regulation activities – 2017-2018

Under s 136(1)(ca) of the ASIC Act, ASIC is required to report in its annual report on its activities under ...

Litigation funding – ASIC’s submission to the ALRC

ASIC’s submission[1] to the Australian Law Reform Commission on class actions and litigation funding seemed to be a surprise to ...

NSW Registered Clubs – insolvency law change required

Registered clubs all over the country get into financial trouble, sometimes requiring the formal insolvency processes under the Corporations Act ...

Competing with phoenix operators, rather than combatting – a goverment liquidator

The World Bank has come out with reports[1] that support the Australian government’s attempts to control unlawful phoenix activity, by ...

ASIC’s 2018 annual report – insolvency, what to expect

An interesting aspect of ASIC’s forthcoming 2018 annual report will be its review of the operation of the changes brought ...

Too poor to be made bankrupt?

Most bankruptcies pay nothing to unsecured creditors. But there are only limited circumstances where a debtor can resist bankruptcy by ...

Insolvency and trust law – a legislative solution is needed regardless of the High Court’s views

While the High Court no doubt gave special leave to appeal in Amerind under the statutory criterion of resolving legal ...

‘Employee’ claim rejected – he was a contractor, and a de facto director

A ‘employee’s’ claim for payment of unpaid wages by a company in liquidation was rejected by the department under the ...

Liquidators’ examinations – not the same judicial restraint in Australia as in England and NZ

As the Full Federal Court has just confirmed, an Australian liquidator may conduct a public examination of a prospective or ...

Linc Energy – High Court special leave hearing 14 September Brisbane

The High Court is hearing the special leave application from the Queensland Court of Appeal decision in Linc Energy on ...

Keay’s Insolvency – a law reform launch

The recent launch of the new 10th edition of Keay’s Insolvency prompted some pointed comments about the current insolvency system ...