Law reform
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 ...
Treasury Laws Amendment (Measures for a later sitting) Bill 2018: Miscellaneous amendments
The law reform process of going through a piece of legislation and picking up minor errors is useful and necessary ...
Insolvency law – assets and liabilities, activities and affairs – ASIC and AFSA
ASIC has released its new Report On Company Activities and Property (ROCAP), said to have been the result of an ...
Debtors’ breathing spaces – UK reforms
This UK government consultation concerns new arrangements proposed for a 60 day ‘breathing space’ for struggling debtors, and for a ...
The elephant in the room of SMEs
It now seems that an old elephant in the room – about the misconduct of banks and financial institutions – ...
UK Crown priority in insolvencies to be restored
The UK government has announced in its 2018 budget that priority dividend payments will be made to the revenue for ...
Law reform obituary – CAMAC 1983-2018
The Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee (CAMAC) was a corporate law reform body comprising individuals eminent in that field. It ...
Insolvency remuneration – time-charging, or better?
Lawyers’ fees in class actions were the subject of a recent conference[1] paper by Sir Rupert Jackson, given in Melbourne, ...
Voluntary administrations and the benefits, or otherwise, of board turnover
Research just published[1] has looked at the relation between board turnover and the likelihood that a company that enters a ...
Litigation funding – ASIC’s submission to the ALRC
ASIC’s submission[1] to the Australian Law Reform Commission on class actions and litigation funding seemed to be a surprise to ...
Senate inquiry into unlicensed debt managers, credit repairers and payday lenders
The Senate Committee inquiry into debt management firms comes at an odd time, given pending regulation of such services by ...
ASIC’s new insolvency ‘ROCAP’ – the Report On Company Activities and Property
The long history of the report as to affairs in corporate insolvency – the RATA – which started about 1890, ...
NSW Registered Clubs – insolvency law change required
Registered clubs all over the country get into financial trouble, sometimes requiring the formal insolvency processes under the Corporations Act ...
Competing with phoenix operators, rather than combatting – a goverment liquidator
The World Bank has come out with reports[1] that support the Australian government’s attempts to control unlawful phoenix activity, by ...
Unclaimed moneys in bankruptcies – the law reformed
Those who are owed “unclaimed moneys” arising from a bankruptcy – for example a creditor whose dividend payment went astray ...
The bankruptcy of Lehman Bros – a mere coincidence
Ten years ago, on 15 September 2008, Professor Rosalind Mason of QUT Brisbane and I gave a paper at the ...