Law reform
Use of referees in insolvency litigation
Justice Michael Lee of the Federal Court of Australia has called for a more proactive response from liquidators and trustees ...
Climate change and the law
Here are details of two recent events on climate change and the law, followed by details of a range of ...
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 ...
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 ...
“Shortcomings of the Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency (just some)”
Professor Martin Davies of Tulane Maritime Law Center recently offered a critique of the Model Law on Cross Border Insolvency ...
Insolvency of trading trusts – Keay comments
Our 10th edition of Keay’s Insolvency was published in 2018 just after the Victorian Court of Appeal decision in Amerind, ...
Insolvency returns to creditors and other fictions
Insolvencies average dividend returns to unsecured creditors of under 5 cents in the dollar, in some cases, under 1 cent. ...
Unclaimed bankruptcy moneys – new law
Easier processes to recover unclaimed moneys in bankruptcy commence at the end of June 2019. The Official Receiver in Bankruptcy ...
Bills subject to scrutiny
That a bill is introduced into parliament after an extensive period of community consultation does not necessarily mean that it ...
Director identity number bill now before parliament
A number of bills broadly concerning the registers of information held by the Commonwealth have been referred to the Senate ...
Litigation ‘for the benefit of creditors’ – really?
How much do unsecured creditors receive out of a liquidation or bankruptcy from any ‘successful’ judgment obtained by the liquidator ...
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, ...
Bad timing? or will Euclid save the day?
Calculation of time limits in law should be straightforward but judges have taken us to the mathematics of Euclid and ...
A new priority of the Commonwealth – FEG – in an insolvency?
This post, of 18 January 2019, is reissued, for readers’ interest and information. The move generally in insolvency law, and ...
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 ...
What to do about problem debt advisers?
A late submission received by the Senate Economics Committee inquiry into credit and financial services aimed at those at risk ...
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 ...
Liquidators: “… no obligation to conduct any investigations beyond the bare minimum …”
It has been said of liquidators that in no other profession is a highly qualified professional expected to work for ...
Credit and financial services targeting those at risk of financial hardship
The Senate Standing Committees on Economics has recommended that the Financial Services Royal Commission be given an extension of time ...
England’s approach to ‘phoenixism’ – joint and several liability
English law’s latest proposed reforms in relation to abuse of its tax laws through insolvency, including through ‘phoenixism’, seem to ...
Consumer protections – auction warranties; debt management firms; and gift cards and insolvencies
The Ministers for Consumer Affairs of Australia and New Zealand recently met, on 26 October 2018 in Melbourne, making a ...
