Case and statute law
Double suspension as a liquidator and as a trustee
An experienced Australian insolvency practitioner (IP) has had his right to practise as a liquidator suspended by a Court for ...
The directors of Kids Company – “actions of public bodies do not have the effect of dissuading able and experienced individuals from becoming or remaining charity trustees”
A significant English High Court decision has been given refusing to make banning orders against trustees (directors), and the CEO, ...
Australia’s “practical insolvency regime … sometimes more of a rough and ready process and not an exact science … a trade-off …”
The Federal Court has dismissed a challenge to deeds of company arrangement of two property development companies and not put ...
Liquidator’s registration suspended not cancelled, by agreement
In A liquidator disciplinary decision – some regulatory insights | Murrays Legal Commentary , I reported an AAT decision refusing ...
Australia’s new liquidator registration processes, and its ‘new liquidators’
On 30 December 2020, ASIC issued guidance on the new liquidator registration processes that apply in Australia two days hence ...
Australian insolvency practitioner disciplinary decisions – short but to what point?
This report of two insolvency practitioner disciplinary decisions in Australia will be brief because the decisions, or their publicly released ...
Caution against “reasoning backwards” in assessing the validity of liquidators’ litigation
A judge has cautioned against “reasoning backwards” to assume that insolvency practitioners’ failed or injudicious legal proceedings either should not ...
Spent convictions of insolvency practitioners
According to a report from Stuff in New Zealand, a long-established liquidator has been denied permission to continue to practise ...
‘In the ordinary course of business’ in insolvency – why are we following wrong thinking New Zealanders?
The term ‘ordinary course of business’ in law is meant to describe a transaction that was within the normal operations ...
“industry codes with their precepts, guidance and aspirational verbiage cannot dictate the proper construction and application of the relevant statutory provisions”
Soft law in Australia takes a rather strict approach in assessing the independence of insolvency practitioners, more so than, for ...
Duties of directors of insolvent companies – New Zealand Supreme Court decision
The NZ Supreme Court has given a significant decision on the duties of directors in the face of their company’s ...
A 2012 committee of creditors found in 2020 to be invalidly appointed
In May 2012 a national Australian transportation company was put into liquidation and on 2 July, a meeting of creditors ...
A “private arrangement” between a liquidator and the Tax Commissioner
The Commissioner of Taxation has purchased a litigation claim from a liquidator, on what terms we are not permitted to ...
Bankruptcy and family provision claims
In Bankrupt for Life, concerning the way a person can remain bankrupt for ever in Australia if they never file ...
Courts ‘should be wary of [liquidator] disclaimers where environmental liabilities are to be passed onto taxpayers or innocent persons’
A court has set aside liquidators’ disclaimer of contaminated property on a challenge by the environmental regulator. Particularly in a ...
Bankrupt for life?
An Australian personal bankruptcy lasts for a minimum of 3 years in Australia – whether it is an overly committed ...
Australian SME insolvencies – the ATO as the solution?
While the government is no doubt considering a range of options to allow the insolvency system to cope with what ...
The potential for conflicts of interest in professional co-regulation
Referrals to a disciplinary committee of two senior insolvency practitioners with connections prompt my further explanations of Australia’s insolvency practitioner ...
Income of a bankrupt – “even accepting that chattels might … be received as income, a ship is a very different proposition”.
An unlikely case about the salvage of a 120 year old wooden ship – the Defender – has found its ...
Cross-border proof of an Australian bankruptcy
A certificate of appointment under Bankruptcy Regulation 8.02 in relation to a voluntary bankruptcy should generally be sufficient to support ...
A bankrupt taxpayer – “It is no answer … to say that the Commissioner can be trusted”.
The Federal Court has correctly held that a person who is bankrupt has no standing to challenge a tax assessment ...
Company deregistration – government’s fast track response to assetless companies
Fast-tracking insolvent assetless companies through a default de-registration process was introduced, in effect, by the Insolvency Law Reform Act 2016 ...
Mainzeal’s NZ$36m reckless trading appeal pending; bankruptcy of director deferred
Liquidators of Mainzeal with a NZ$36m judgment for reckless trading against the company’s directors have failed in an attempt to ...
Liquidators’ remuneration in Halifax referred to a referee
Going back some years, Australia rejected a single insolvency regulator for its personal insolvency practitioners on the one hand, and ...
