NSW registered clubs (law) in trouble, again
What are described as the “arbitrary powers of the NSW Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority (ILGA)” are the subject of a recent critical comments by…
The new Attorney-General and business bankruptcies
As the new Attorney-General, Senator Michaelia Cash[1] will find her portfolio encompasses the current law reform debate about whether and for how long there should…
Move bankruptcy from the Attorney-General to Treasury?
In light of the Attorney-General’s need to transfer some matters of his responsibility, a worthy area to transfer is the law and policy of personal…
Review of the English Insolvency Rules 2016
The 2016 insolvency rules of England and Wales are being reviewed, in accord with a statutory requirement to do so by 2022. A report on…
Should a person be subject to restrictions after an insolvency?
The default period of restriction on a person following their personal insolvency is under consideration in Australia. It prompts the wider question whether there should…
A proposed change of focus of the Australian Official Trustee in Bankruptcy
The Australian Official Trustee in Bankruptcy (OT) has sought comment on a significant refocus of its legal responsibilities by way of proposing new criteria to…
Australian personal insolvency reform for COVID-19 impacted debtors
The Australian government's proposed retention of the restrictions of bankruptcy on COVID-19 impacted business proprietors and consumers is questionable, but expected. Possible reasons for this…
‘Modernising’ insolvency communications
The Australian government’s consultation paper - Modernising Business Communications - Improving the Technology Neutrality[1] of Treasury Portfolio Laws, of December 2020 – offers, as an…
Australian root and branch bankruptcy reform – creditors’ rights? Elizabeth (Ist) laws? SMEs? …
While COVID-19 restrictions on creditors in bankruptcy have ended, though now with an increased $10,000 threshold, the experience should prompt one of many root and…
Australia’s new liquidator registration processes, and its ‘new liquidators’
On 30 December 2020, ASIC issued guidance on the new liquidator registration processes that apply in Australia two days hence - from 1 January 2021…
Bad bankruptcy notices
A bankruptcy notice was found to have been wrongly issued by the Official Receiver because it did not attach a final judgment or order of…
The financial viability of personal insolvency practice in Australia
The Australian bankruptcy regulator - AFSA - has been making inquiries about the financial health of bankruptcy trustee firms during what AFSA terms ‘the challenges…
Reinventing Bankruptcy Law – Virginia Torrie
This is a very good book on Canadian insolvency law, sadly with no equivalent in Australia, as I explain below. My review of it was/is…
Australia’s litigation funding market a ‘global hotspot for international investors … many based in tax havens and with dubious corporate histories’ with returns of ‘more than 500%’
The tone and findings of this 454 page report by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services - Litigation funding and the regulation of…
The ‘powerhouse’ of small and medium enterprises and their recovery ‘boosted’ by our new insolvency laws
Interesting to know from what [limited] bases journalists get their views ... 'Finally, a fair go for small suppliers', R Gottliebsen, The Weekend Australian, 19-20…
Corporations Amendment (Corporate Insolvency Reforms) Act 2020 No 130 of 2020
This is now law, with a date of assent of 15 December 2020, and with a commencement date for most provisions of 1 January 2021.
Bankruptcy threshold to be increased from $5,000 to $10,000
The Australian government has not been ignoring personal insolvency reform in 2020, despite its recent small business reforms dealing only with the smaller proportion of…
NZ’s measured review of class actions and litigation funding, noting Australia’s ‘polarised’ debate
The New Zealand Law Commission has commenced a 2 year inquiry into litigation funding and class actions, right at the time that an Australian parliamentary…