ASIC’s review of liquidators for 2017-2018 – continued fall in complaints
This ASIC Report 610 has been released, with some interesting points to note, and questions raised. It largely expands on the reporting component in the
22/02/2019
Bills subject to scrutiny
That a bill is introduced into parliament after an extensive period of community consultation does not necessarily mean that it will proceed into law without
20/02/2019
Litigants in person – issues for judges
Judges have to be careful about making public statements on current issues that may allow claims of bias. There can also be matters in which
20/02/2019
The Hayne Report – lessons for lawyers – Australian Academy of Law event
The relevance of the ‘Hayne Report’ for the legal profession is the subject of the first of the Australian Academy of Law’s events in Sydney
15/02/2019
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 Standing Committee on Economics for
15/02/2019
Building security of payment laws – the impact of the claimant’s insolvency
Now that we have some consistent security of payment laws across the states and territories protecting building sub-contractors, there is a need for the various
15/02/2019
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 or trustee under their vast
14/02/2019
The future of the insolvency ‘profession’
I was pleased to have given a presentation on the future of the insolvency profession, at Griffith University’s excellent Professional Futures Conference on 6-7 February
12/02/2019
Assessment of liquidators’ remuneration, with help from a band of experts
The decision of Justice Besanko of the Federal Court in Lock, in the matter of Cedenco JV (No 2) [2019] FCA 93 mainly concerns the
12/02/2019
Insolvency administrator’s lack of attention to the sale of complex assets
A UK insolvency administrator has been found to have acted in breach of his duties to a broadcasting company, some 8 years after the conduct
12/02/2019
Coshott – a field of study?
Robert Gilbert Coshott was made bankrupt on 7 November 2008: see Shipton Lodge Cobbitty Pty Ltd v Coshott (No.2) [2008] FMCA 1552. There are then
11/02/2019
Last minute attempts to avoid a business being liquidated
When directors appoint a voluntary administrator the day before their company is before the court on a creditor’s winding up application, a certain scepticism exists
11/02/2019
Practitioner’s bankruptcy registration cancelled, and liquidator registration indefinitely suspended
A bankruptcy disciplinary committee has issued its reasons for deciding to cancel the registration of a trustee in bankruptcy, based on his misconduct in a
04/02/2019
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, comments and recommendations in the
04/02/2019
The costs and time in administering justice
Newspaper analyses of the work of judges by reference to numbers of matters heard, words written and time taken can be overly and unfairly simplistic,
03/02/2019
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 beyond in deciding whether a
02/02/2019
Trends in personal insolvency given to Senate committee
Representatives of the personal insolvency law administrator – AFSA – appeared on 24 January 2019 before the Economics References Committee examining credit and financial services
01/02/2019
Environmental regulator prevails over liquidators’ right of disclaimer – decision of the Supreme Court of Canada
The rights of an environmental regulator against an insolvent company prevail over the right of the company’s liquidator to disclaim property of the company that
01/02/2019
‘The defaulter’s paradise is lost’ – an unsuccessful challenge to India’s new Bankruptcy Code
India’s new Bankruptcy Code has survived an initial challenge to its constitutional validity, with the Supreme Court of India waxing poetic about the importance of
31/01/2019
An employee or an independent contractor? a checklist
The AAT has given a useful decision, finely balanced on the facts and the law, that a person – Mr Roberts – was an employee
29/01/2019
Liquidator’s right to disclaim contaminated land – important decision pending
Murrays Legal has reported for some time on the progress of an important issue of legal conflict before the Supreme Court of Canada between a
27/01/2019
Does insolvency practice constitute a profession?
Those who specialise in insolvency law and practice, and restructuring, would no doubt consider they act professionally, however that term may be defined. But in
21/01/2019
Inquiry into debt services for those in financial hardship – 22 January hearing
The Senate Standing Committee on Economics inquiring into credit and financial services targeted at people at risk of financial hardship has its next hearing in
20/01/2019
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 under Australia’s Insolvency Law Reform
18/01/2019