Courts professions and regulation

A liquidator found liable for breach of confidence and invasion of privacy

“To say there is bad blood between David Henderson and Robert Walker is an understatement. From the time Robert Walker ...

A legal ‘affront’ – the Chorley exception – has gone

In raising the fundamental equality of all before the law in the context of a lawyer’s costs in their own ...

Accountants’ insolvency code updated

A new standard for insolvency practitioners – APES 330 – has just been issued written in APESB’s unique style and ...

ASIC’s Corporate Plan 2019-2023 – Insolvency Practitioners

ASIC’s corporate plan 2019-2023 contains much detail about the various sectors it regulates and what regulatory approaches it is taking. ...

Winding up a company for $2,000?

A court has suggested that the minimum debt amount for which a creditor can proceed to apply to wind up ...

Insolvency practitioner offence reporting – a need for reform

If liquidators in Australia are investigating and reporting to ASIC “thousands” of breaches of the law by those involved in ...

ARITA’s 8 (plus?) point plan for insolvency law reform

One of the main insolvency professional bodies in Australia – ARITA[1] – has released what it calls its “8 point ...

International insolvency law and Australia’s UNCCA

A newly qualified Australian lawyer who was sponsored through UNCCA and LAWASIA to attend Insolvency Working Group V in Vienna ...

Views of former High Court judges, on reasoned [sic] government decision making

Here are two rather politically telling comments of former Australian High Court judges from which we may each make our ...

NSW Law Society’s Specialist Accreditation Conference 2019

I am presenting to senior lawyers at the NSW Law Society’s Specialist Accreditation Conference 2019 on 9-10 August, in the ...

Australian insolvency law – current reforms

As in many countries, general elections put law changes and reform on hold pending the new government’s decisions on pending ...

NZ’s 2019 Insolvency Practitioners Regulation Act and its cross-Tasman impact

NZ’s Insolvency Practitioners Regulation Act is due to commence over the next year introducing a licensing and regulatory regime for ...

How to become an insolvency practitioner in Australia

The ‘new’ process of selecting by interview who should be an insolvency practitioner (IP) was the subject of a presentation ...

Some views on ASIC v Wily & Hurst

The views of Justice Brereton of the NSW Supreme Court have not prevailed following the decision by the High Court ...

A running account of insolvency history – the lawyers and the accountants

In an account of the interaction between lawyers and the newly titled accountants in 19th century England, it has been ...

ASIC’s “significant element of vexation”

ASIC has failed in an application to have an inquiry conducted into joint liquidators’ conduct – Hurst and Wily – ...

Insolvency and climate change and environmental liabilities

INSOL Academics in Singapore on 1-2 April 2019 and the following day’s meeting of academics at the National University of ...

An inquiry into a liquidator’s conduct, some many years ago

ASIC has succeeded in obtained a court order for an investigation of the conduct of a liquidator, in relation to ...

Keay’s Insolvency – note from the authors – progressive updates since publication

As the authors of Keay’s, and in order to assist readers, we propose to make brief reference to law changes ...

ASIC’s review of liquidators for 2017-2018 – continued fall in complaints

This ASIC Report 610 has been released, with some interesting points to note, and questions raised. It largely expands on ...

Bills subject to scrutiny

That a bill is introduced into parliament after an extensive period of community consultation does not necessarily mean that it ...

The future of the insolvency ‘profession’

I was pleased to have given a presentation on the future of the insolvency profession, at Griffith University’s excellent Professional ...

Practitioner’s bankruptcy registration cancelled, and liquidator registration indefinitely suspended

A bankruptcy disciplinary committee has issued its reasons for deciding to cancel the registration of a trustee in bankruptcy, based ...

Hayne Report – banks and receivers and agricultural enterprises

The Hayne Royal Commission declined to examine the conduct of receivers appointed by banks, in particular over agricultural enterprises. Nevertheless, ...