Inquiries conferences and reports

Legislating in the dark – continued – IMF Report

The 2023 Parliamentary Joint Committee Report on Corporate Insolvency called for the collection and analysis of data in advance of ...

ASIC’s report on Part 5.3B – small corporate business restructuring

The small corporate business ‘restructuring’ process under Part 5.3B of the Corporations Act was introduced in 2021, in some criticized ...

Treasury’s role in insolvency law reform

With Treasury now comprising Ministers well qualified in economics,[1] and with a government focused on competition, economic dynamism and productivity, ...

A quarter of new bankruptcies to go to female trustees

The personal insolvency regulator, AFSA, has announced it will increase its gender equity target in the allocation of bankrupt estates ...

INSOL Academics Barcelona – competition and insolvency law

I was pleased to have presented my topic on the intersection between competition policy and insolvency and rescue law before ...

The economics of insolvency – the pain of liquidation is one way to get economic growth

Pre INSOL post I am pleased to have had my topic accepted for presentation at the INSOL Academics Colloquium in ...

Insolvency & competition law – INSOL Academics – 22.5.25 – References

Insolvency and competition law – parallel universes, serving contradictory goals, without coordination – INSOL Academics Colloquium 22 May 2025, Barcelona– Michael ...

Audit of ATO small business debt recovery

The ANAO is currently conducting an audit of the ATO to assess the effectiveness of the ATO’s management of small ...

A future where “tax just happens”

A Capability Review of the Australian Taxation Office has been conducted which foreshadows a future where tax obligations are paid ...

Insolvency law – has corporate rescue gone too far? 30 April, Sydney Law School

The Ross Parsons Centre for Commercial, Corporate and Taxation Law of Sydney University Law School is hosting a debate on ...

Reserve Bank report on insolvency numbers’ “little threat to financial stability”.

Increases or decreases in the number of insolvencies in Australia are used, particularly now, as some sort of political weapon ...

Insolvency reform, phoenix misconduct – where to begin…

Insolvency law reform inquiries into phoenix company misconduct are happening or are proposed.  Where are we to begin? Soon after ...

Dramatic fall in insolvency numbers

The number of personal insolvencies fell by over 28% in the period July to December 2024, with big falls in ...

Annual [2023-2024] personal insolvency statistics

Dividend payments to creditors in bankruptcies in 2023-24 averaged only 2.42c in the dollar. Registered bankruptcy trustees took in more ...

Personal insolvency numbers remain low – AFSA report

AFSA has released a useful report on personal insolvencies in 2023-2024, with some predictions as to the future. State of ...

The costs of insolvency practitioner regulation

ASIC has released its analysis of the costs of regulation of liquidators; AFSA has issued comparable analyses of the costs ...

Financial abuse report – corporate, tax, bankruptcy and family law conduct

Among the 61 recommendations of the Report of the Parliamentary Joint Committee (PJC) on Corporations and Financial Services – Financial ...

Productivity inquiry into phoenix activity

The Productivity Commission (PC) has issued its National Competition Policy: modelling proposed reforms. Among proposed inquiries into electric vehicle charging ...

A further continued fall in personal insolvencies

Following my October 2024 report, below, that personal insolvencies dropped in number in each of July, August and September 2024, ...

Personal insolvency numbers

AFSA has reported that personal insolvencies increased in the September quarter 2024 compared to September quarter 2023.  That is, there ...

AFSA’s annual report on personal insolvency?

The AFSA 2023–24 Annual Report has been released, reporting on the information required under particular public sector legislation.  Unlike ASIC, ...

Insolvency law reform – and income contributions

A 1997 article about the need for data in insolvency law reform, rather than relying on assumptions and anecdotes unsupported ...

ASIC’s annual report 2023-2024 – Chapter 5 insolvency issues

ASIC has released its 2023-2024 annual report.  ASIC annual reports | ASIC.  Under s 136(1)(ca) of the ASIC Act 2001, ...

The need for a new process for the appointment of insolvency practitioners?

A Judge has expressed concern about the processes for the appointment of insolvency practitioners, suggesting adverse relationships with their lawyers, ...