Deregistered/dissolved companies – let them be?
The UK Insolvency Service has been granted new investigative and disqualification powers to regulate directors who ‘dissolve’ (in Australian terms, ‘deregister’) their companies to avoid…
UK’s proposed single insolvency regulator – beware Australian comparisons [revised]
After some long period of deliberation, the UK government has decided to itself take a direct role in the regulation of its insolvency practitioners (IPs),…
Is it relevant outside Canberra whether a law is within or without Treasury’s portfolio?
With the government's Treasury department busily introducing changes to the law to allow virtual meeting technology (VMT) for corporate liquidations, and liquidator job interviews, the…
Australian bankruptcy statistics 2019-2021
Numbers of Australia’s 3 year long bankruptcies were down 46.7% in 2020-2021, producing an average dividend of only 1.63c/$. The private profession, which handles about…
Australian MSME insolvency law reform
Australian lawyers are presently represented at an international gathering of experts to address the need for particular insolvency laws for small business in the wake…
Unconscionable and immoral corporate conduct – nothing personal
In imposing a $153 million penalty on a company already in liquidation, for its "deliberate and protracted unconscionable conduct of a highly predatory nature", a…
Any insolvency remuneration review as sought by ASIC “would be unprincipled and ultimately, wholly pointless”
From the opening paragraphs, one can foresee the outcome of this decision, about ASIC’s "unprincipled and pointless” intervention to deny voluntary administrators of GD Pork…
Do our insolvency laws suit small business failures?
In shopping for a suit recently, I noticed that the Big Store displayed its suits according to brand, which apparently suited the Store, or its…
An insolvency law reform inquiry? first things first….
The prospect of an inquiry into insolvency law was raised in a recent speech by the chair of the Australian Law Reform Commission, Justice Sarah…
Insolvency Law Bulletin – October 2021 – Halifax, Arrium, MSME insolvency, letters of comfort, and (discretionary) trusts
The latest Insolvency Law Bulletin is out with a range of articles covering current and on-going issues in insolvency law and practice – so current…
Proposed New Zealand law restricting investigating accountants taking insolvency appointments
A bill introduced into the New Zealand parliament would mean that if ABC Insolvency Firm took a role as investigating accountant to assess and report…
Rethinking insolvency law – a follow up
We are pleased to see some further responses to our early ideas on reform of the structure of the insolvency system. These were presented at…
Sole traders and insolvency
A report on the financial business health of Australian small business takes the novel approach of looking at sole traders. Behind that positive image of…
Trust law and insolvency – views of the NSW Chief Justice; law reform prospects
A paper given by the NSW Chief Justice, Tom Bathurst – ‘Commercial trusts and the liability of beneficiaries: are commercial trusts a satisfactory vehicle to…
High Court confirms principles of judicial independence
The High Court of Australia has found that social communications between a judge and a lawyer for a litigant in a matter that the judge…
Electronic delivery of documents in bankruptcy and liquidation – continued
In my earlier comments trying to work out why we now have unharmonized drafting approaches and rules for electronic service of insolvency documents, depending on…
Corporate Collective Investment Vehicles
The government is consulting on a Bill in line with what it says is its commitment “to establishing a commercially viable regime for corporate collective investment…
Reinventing the Australian Insolvency System
At a seminar on 4 August 2021, Jason Harris and I presented our ideas on reform of the insolvency system in Australia, which we have…