Law reform
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, ...
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 ...
Where’s bankruptcy nowadays?
It is a positive sign that the administration of the Bankruptcy Act has moved from Attorney-General’s to Treasury, sitting with ...
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 ...
Family pets, family law and bankruptcy
In the division of family property on the breakdown of a marriage,[1] disputes between spouses about “companion animals” have been ...
FEG v liquidators: remuneration priority over circulating assets
Problems regarding the priority of employee entitlements over the claims of the security holder, and the priority of the remuneration ...
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 ...
Australia on a slope? [continued]
My various comments about Australia’s standing in the world corruption stakes, below, go back to 2022 – Australia on a ...
Small corporate business restructuring – Part I
This is a brief review, in two parts, of the small corporate business restructuring process under Part 5.3B of the ...
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 ...
ASIC updates “guidance to help directors prevent insolvent trading”
ASIC has updated its regulatory guide for directors and their professional advisers on the duty to prevent insolvent trading – ...
Insolvency and competition law – two disciplines moving as parallel universes, without coordination
“Ultimately, it seems that the two disciplines move as parallel universes, without any coordination …”. Only “by linking the attempt ...
Litigation Funding in Insolvency and in Class Actions
This queries corporate insolvency’s requirement for approval of liquidators’ litigation funding in the context of an article comparing litigation funding ...
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 ...
Insolvency practitioner remuneration – continued ….
A report in a daily newspaper[1] has commented on the large fees earner by liquidators and administrators in attending to ...
What is the future of insolvency practice?
In my reply to an interesting comment from a practitioner about the fundamental difficulties of lack of funding for insolvency ...
ASIC’s updated guidance on liquidator registration and discipline; AFSA; and the ART
ASIC has released updated regulatory guidance on statutory committee registration and discipline processes, and related issues: see Revised Regulatory Guide ...
Coercive control and insolvency
ASIC has asked registered liquidators to “stay alert” for signs of family and domestic violence when conducting insolvency administrations.[1] ASIC ...
Personal insolvency figures up and ‘reforms’ pending
Personal insolvencies increased in July 2024, to 1157 compared with the lows of 851 in June 2024, and 929 in ...
ASIC’s civil penalty regime – an academic review
In the midst of a focus on the enforcement activity of ASIC following a critical Senate Committee report,[1] we have ...
ASIC’s revised guidance on insolvency practitioner offence reporting – RG 16
ASIC has issued revised guidance on insolvency practitioner offence reporting obligations – RG 16 External administrators and controllers: Reporting of ...
Insolvency numbers in decline
Numbers of insolvencies of individuals and companies have fallen dramatically over the years, which we may find represents a fundamental ...