Conferences and publications
Cross-border insolvency – the Canberra session
I was pleased to have been involved with others in giving a presentation on UN Day 24 October 2019 to commemorate 25 years of cross-border…
Halifax – a cross-border insolvency
A joint hearing of Australian and New Zealand courts is one way to deal with an intermingled cross-Tasman insolvency, through a letter of request process,…
The evolution of bankruptcy and insolvency laws and the case of the deed of company arrangement
This is a thoughtful and instructive article on the process of the historical development of the bankruptcy and insolvency laws in the United Kingdom, the…
Digital disruption is here but “progress towards a digital insolvency practice has to date been slow”
A recent journal article on the impact of artificial intelligence and its use by the insolvency profession has good and bad news - the good…
‘A good idea’ – assignment of a liquidator’s recovery rights
A liquidator has transferred, with court approval, potential recovery claims to the ATO, as the major and only creditor in a liquidation. The law concerning…
Climate change and the law
Here are details of two recent events on climate change and the law, followed by details of a range of other issues covered by Murrays…
Regulation of Australian insolvency practitioners – UK and NZ compared
I am pleased to be soon presenting to various groups on the regulation of Australian insolvency practitioners, with some comparisons with England and New Zealand.…
International Association of Insolvency Regulators’ Conference – 2019
Australia is attending and presenting at the annual insolvency regulators' conference, along with regulators from the UK, the US, New Zealand, Singapore and others. …
Democracy, Human Rights and the Judiciary: the common law and the wider world
The Australian Academy of Law is hosting a presentation by Sir Nicholas Blake on this Wednesday 4 September 2019, in Melbourne. Sir Nicholas is a…
Insolvency practitioner offence reporting – a need for reform
If liquidators in Australia are investigating and reporting to ASIC "thousands" of breaches of the law by those involved in insolvent companies each year, most…
ARITA’s 8 (plus?) point plan for insolvency law reform
One of the main insolvency professional bodies in Australia – ARITA[1] - has released what it calls its “8 point plan” to comprehensively review and…
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…