Law reform
Too much independence? a re-issue of my 2016 commentary
My analysis below of the law of insolvency practitioner independence, written in October 2016, is reissued in February 2020 in …
by how much could we reduce white collar crime by imposing 30 year jail sentences? “Zero”.
The Honest Politician’s Guide to Crime Control never went into to a second edition, and it may by now be …
The reform of the intersection of trust and insolvency law – Killarnee
Once the trustee and insolvency lawyers have explained the law about the insolvency of trading trusts in the decision in …
A one year bankruptcy or a 5 year debt agreement – Senate recommendations
The reports of the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee on the one-year bankruptcy (BAEI Bill) and the debt agreement …
UK consultation on insolvency recovery and governance reforms
The UK government is consulting on law reform with a view to, in its words, “to improve the UK’s corporate …
The breadth of the concept of justice – Australian Academy of Law
Consistent with its objects, the Australian Academy of Law held a series of three public debates in 2017, in Sydney, …
Restrictions on failed entrepreneurs – 3 years, one, or none?
The current inquiries and debates about whether we should reduce our period of bankruptcy in Australia from three years to …
Linc Energy’s insolvency disclaimer prevails over environmental demands
The success of the claims of Linc Energy’s liquidators against Queensland’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) won’t resolve the continuing legal …
Some casual Friday comments on recent insolvency developments
This is a quick review of some on-going current issues in insolvency and related. Pending decisions The Commonwealth v Byrnes …
The tragic personal consequences of the collapse of Banksia securities
This does no more than set out the opening paragraphs of Justice Clyde Croft’s judgment of 16 February 2018 about …
Cleaning up the law – WA’s old diamond and other mines
The collapse of WA’s Ellendale diamond mine, and the liquidators’ prompt disclaimer of the mining site, leaving the clean up …
The wider context of the proposed one-year period of bankruptcy
Many less than 1% of bankrupts warrant an objection to discharge from their bankruptcy, trustees leave it til the last …
ASIC and one-year bankruptcy, AUSTRAC, a fees claim settled, and more …
The following further commentary on insolvency – submissions due, events and conferences and case law – may be of interest. …
Ensuring employees’ super gets paid
The term ‘pussyfooting’ comes to mind when looking at the government’s proposed new ‘tough’ approach to employees’ unpaid super contributions …
What’s up, or on, in insolvency, early in 2018?
The following commentary on submissions due, events and conferences, professional standards, international and local, hearings and case law*, all in …
Release of draft Bankruptcy Amendment (Debt Agreement Reform) Bill 2018
The debt agreements regime under the Bankruptcy Act would be substantially changed in order to give greater confidence in a …
Moving in together – personal and corporate insolvency law and policy
Mr Christian Porter, as the new federal Attorney-General, might like to consider transferring responsibility for personal insolvency from his law …
Pending insolvency law and practice changes
Some of us are waiting for Santa, others are waiting on anticipated updates in insolvency law so we can send …
The end of safe harbour?
Is there a possibility that the new ‘safe harbour’ regime for directors might be removed? It depends. While the …
Debt agreement reform remains under parliamentary wraps
Although listed for tabling in parliament this year, the Bankruptcy Amendment (Debt Agreement Reform) Bill 2017 did not quite make …
Part IX debt agreement reforms also off to a Senate Committee
In ‘A one year bankruptcy or a 3 year debt agreement … what’s the catch?’ I foreshadowed reforms to Part …
Vale CAMAC
Many will remember the Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee (CAMAC), and its predecessor CASAC. CAMAC produced many law reform reports …
One year bankruptcy reform – submissions due by 31 January 2018
The government has put off its announced one year bankruptcy law until well into next year, asking for submissions by …
An economic perspective on trends in start-ups, and -downs
The federal government’s Innovation Statement of 2015 contained some simplistic aims for the promotion of entrepreneurial activity from proposed changes …
