Conferences and publications
Views of former High Court judges, on reasoned [sic] government decision making
Here are two rather politically telling comments of former Australian High Court judges from which we may each make our own assessment about how this…
NSW Law Society’s Specialist Accreditation Conference 2019
I am presenting to senior lawyers at the NSW Law Society’s Specialist Accreditation Conference 2019 on 9-10 August, in the Business Law component. The topic…
Australian insolvency law – current reforms
As in many countries, general elections put law changes and reform on hold pending the new government’s decisions on pending law. The government was returned…
“Shortcomings of the Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency (just some)”
Professor Martin Davies of Tulane Maritime Law Center recently offered a critique of the Model Law on Cross Border Insolvency at a presentation at Sydney…
NZ’s 2019 Insolvency Practitioners Regulation Act and its cross-Tasman impact
NZ’s Insolvency Practitioners Regulation Act is due to commence over the next year introducing a licensing and regulatory regime for insolvency practitioners (IPs) under a…
How to become an insolvency practitioner in Australia
The ‘new’ process of selecting by interview who should be an insolvency practitioner (IP) was the subject of a presentation by ASIC at the recent…
Some views on ASIC v Wily & Hurst
The views of Justice Brereton of the NSW Supreme Court have not prevailed following the decision by the High Court in the Carter Holt Harvey…
The Alternative Financial Review
Property prices Perth 'as good as it’s likely to get' for rental affordability With little new housing stock - especially at the lower end -…
A bankrupt’s list of ‘personal’ assets
The law requires those people in bankruptcy to record their assets and liabilities in a 'statement of affairs'. It is an important document because the…
An inquiry into a liquidator’s conduct, some many years ago
ASIC has succeeded in obtained a court order for an investigation of the conduct of a liquidator, in relation to liquidations going back to 2001,…
Keay’s Insolvency – note from the authors – progressive updates since publication
As the authors of Keay’s, and in order to assist readers, we propose to make brief reference to law changes or case law decisions that…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
Professional body regulation of Australian insolvency practitioners
Having reviewed the current regulation of insolvency practitioners (IPs) by both ASIC and AFSA, ARITA is now examined, and to a limited extent CAANZ, given…