Courts professions and regulation
The bankruptcy trustee and missing funds, continuing
The court hearing of an Australian bankruptcy trustee who may need to explain missing funds has been adjourned without ceremony ...
ASIC’s review of offence reporting – RG 16
In response to the PJC Report, although a bit premature, ASIC is reviewing its RG 16, on offence reporting obligations, ...
“Thousands and thousands of pounds have been lost …”
By way of an update to this post, on 11 June 2024 the Federal Court adjourned the 14 June case ...
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, ...
Insolvency Practitioner Registration and Disciplinary Committees
I am pleased to have been appointed by the government as a part‑time member to the Ministerial pool for the ...
Offence referrals by liquidators
Offence referrals to ASIC by liquidators continue to be contentious and perhaps distracted by the issue of claimed automated decision-making ...
Cancellation of a bankruptcy trustee’s registration and freezing orders obtained
The registration of Australian bankruptcy trustee Mr Paul Leroy was cancelled by the Inspector-General in Bankruptcy (IGB) on 2 February ...
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 ...
Slow pace of litigation and incomprehensible laws
Former Federal Court judge Steven Rares is reported in the AFR[1] as having made several comments about the justice system ...
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 ...
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 ...
Annual reports 2022-2023: of ASIC – ‘a deliberate strategy of obfuscation so that the public is kept in the dark ….’? and of AFSA
ASIC’s ASIC Annual Report 2022–23 has been released amidst some recent severe criticism of the quality of its annual reports ...
Regulation of firms offering insolvency services
Further to my earlier post on insolvency practitioner (IP) regulation in the UK, and contrary to expectations,[1] the UK government ...
‘Masculinity contest cultures’, and gender imbalance?
Evidence before the Parliamentary Joint Committee inquiry into Ethics and Professional Accountability [1] (PJC inquiry) may assist in considering the ...
ACCC’s new penalty guidelines – some queries
The ACCC has issued new penalty guidelines – Guidelines on ACCC approach to penalties in competition and consumer law matters ...
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 ...
Cross-border regulation of insolvency practitioners – INSOL Tokyo – where are the government regulators?
This commentary has now been updated. See The cross-border regulation of insolvency practitioners – Murrays Legal ============================================== I was pleased ...
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 ...
15 years for tax fraud – immoral and illegal
Mr Adam Cranston has been sentenced to 15 years jail for his involvement in conspiracies to deprive the Commissioner of ...
PJC Recommendation – Pre-Insolvency Advisers – Part 1: summary
The full article on this topic of 1800 words, for those interested, looks that the PJC Report recommendations about “untrustworthy ...
PJC recommendation – pre-insolvency advisers – Part 1
The PJC Report on Corporate Insolvency 2023 has responded to concerns expressed about “untrustworthy pre-insolvency advisers”, those that are said ...
Sunlight on pre-insolvency advisers
Updated 14.8.23: While pondering the 2023 Parliamentary Joint Committee’s recommendations about pre-insolvency advisers, I am reminded to go back to ...
Updates to ASIC insolvency regulatory guides
ASIC is in the process of updating 4 of its regulatory guides on insolvency, in the next few months, and ...
