Personal insolvency figures – December 2023
Numbers of personal insolvencies in Australia continue to fall with the December 2023 figure down to 805 compared with 853 in November 2023. However, December
01/02/2024
New corporate definitions of director, officer and asset
Following the ALRC’s work on Ch 7 of the Corporations Act, attention has already been given to legislative changes tidying up the Act across a
01/02/2024
Corporations Act redrafting – ch 5?
Some years ago, I suggested to a Treasury officer that Ch 5 of the Corporations Act be redrafted and simplified. The curt response was, “you
23/01/2024
The new Administrative Review Tribunal and law for the relief of insolvent debtors
On 7 December 2023, the government introduced legislation that would abolish the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) and establish what it terms “a new, fit-for purpose
03/01/2024
A winding up vs an administration – s 440A(2)
The situation where a creditor applies for a winding up of a company under the Corporations Act, and while that is pending, the directors appoint
30/12/2023
Insolvency statistics 2023
Each of our insolvency regulators, ASIC for corporate, AFSA for personal, has issued its statistics for 2022-2023 right on the eve of Christmas,[1] each presenting
30/12/2023
Law reform – small business redundancy exemption removed
Among the many changes introduced by the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Act 2023 are those in Schedule 1 Part 2 that address the
29/12/2023
The AFCA financial complaints scheme and bankruptcy – no appeal
Further to my case comment below, AFSA has, belatedly, advised that it is not appealing this decision of Justice Rares of 11 October 2023. Nevertheless,
24/12/2023
NOCLAR – accountants’ reporting of offences
Some while ago, I took an interest in the professional obligation that accountants decided to impose on themselves to respond to and as necessary refer
04/12/2023
Bankruptcy statistics – more of the same
With the annual personal insolvency statistics for 2022-2023 not yet released, AFSA has released figures for October 2023, showing 951 new personal insolvencies, falling marginally
01/12/2023
NZ insolvency practitioner sanctioned
A sanction of a New Zealand liquidator for the poor handling of his matters provides an illustration of New Zealand’s relatively new licensing and co-regulation
01/12/2023
Language please….!
“Finally on the subject of language, the Commission staff are not to be blamed for the archaic forms of syntax “a number of people was”
28/11/2023
Personal insolvency numbers – July-Sept 2023
With the annual personal insolvency statistics for 2022-2023 not due until December 2023, AFSA has released a quarterly report for the July-September quarter 2023, showing
27/11/2023
“Shock horror – insolvent people don’t have many assets”
While we wait for the useful annual statistics from AFSA as to dividend returns in bankruptcies in 2022-2023,* an insolvency training body in the UK,
27/11/2023
Australia has some of the longest lag times between employees being paid and taxes being remitted
This is a short historical background to the increasing non- or late payment of tax mainly by small businesses – owing over $33 billion of
21/11/2023
Bankruptcy Act restructure – when statements of affairs are accepted
AFSA advises that the Bankruptcy Amendment (Discharge from Bankruptcy) Act 2023 (Cth), came into force on Thursday 23 November 2023. See Bankruptcy Act amendment | Australian
21/11/2023
Slow pace of litigation and incomprehensible laws
Former Federal Court judge Steven Rares is reported in the AFR[1] as having made several comments about the justice system in Australia, including about the
15/11/2023
Defining bankruptcy
The Bankruptcy Amendment (Discharge from Bankruptcy) Bill 2023 has been introduced into parliament. It has presumably been drafted by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel (OPC).
15/11/2023
Insolvent trading in context
Insolvent trading is one of the many items for review recommended by the Parliamentary Joint Committee report on Corporate Insolvency. ASIC is updating its guidance
08/11/2023
The business structures of SMEs
A recent article in the Australian Business Law Review – Not in isolation: The Rationale for a Combination of Business Structures in Australia[1] – analyses
06/11/2023
Bankruptcy by mistake – who pays?
What started out as a minor dispute over plumbing work for $2,880 descended into the plumber obtaining a judgment for $11,190 against the customer –
01/11/2023
“Related parties par excellence – company controlled by a wife on the one hand and the husband on the other”
When you are employed by your spouse’s company, and you attempt to resist bankruptcy based on your remuneration and support from that company, things can
31/10/2023
Rights to appeal – some limits?
In dealing with an unmeritorious bankruptcy law appeal, a Federal Court Judge has made a suggestion to limit appeal rights in order to avoid a
24/10/2023
Annual reports 2022-2023: of ASIC – ‘a deliberate strategy of obfuscation so that the public is kept in the dark ….’? and of AFSA
ASIC’s ASIC Annual Report 2022–23 has been released amidst some recent severe criticism of the quality of its annual reports over the years, in relation
18/10/2023