Articles

The word “bankrupt” is derived from two Italian words: banca (table or bench) and rotta (broken), which references Italian traders, who upon becoming insolvent, were said to have a “broken bench” (banca rotta) or in Latin, bancas ruptus. The word had its French equivalent, banqueroute. The term appears to stem from a widespread custom in…

“If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.” Mark Twain died on 21 April 1910. More than a hundred years ago. The only difference in his lifetime and ours, when contemplating lies and truth, is that today in the time it takes for the truth to put its shoes on, a lie…

The ATO’s hands are no longer firmly tied with confidentiality of taxpayer information provisions; the ATO can now divulge recalcitrant taxpayers. In a December 2017 LinkedIn article, I noted the Government’s announcement that it intended to introduce legislation to allow the ATO to report to Credit Reporting Bureaus (CRBs) the tax debt information of businesses…

Recently I had an enquiry regarding a company from which I had retired as liquidator. The liquidation was long since finished and the company had been deregistered. The enquirer had acquired the company’s former business name and wanted to know if I had any leftover marketing material (or anything else) bearing the business name that…

Since October 2017 I’ve been writing about the controversial, long awaited, much anticipated and debated proposal to reduce the current minimum bankruptcy term from three years to one year. The proposal was contained in the Turnbull Government’s National Innovation Statement issued on 7 December 2015. Since then progress to implement the proposal has been slow,…

(Creditors’ right to pursue an insolvent trading claim) “I’m owed money…. I want to have a go at the directors for insolvent trading” Joe Supplier (creditor). The oft heard catchcry of the unsecured creditor at the start of a liquidation. Well, yes you can, subject to certain restrictions and conditions. But the ball starts in…

The Australian government has introduced four reforms designed to protect consumers and promote responsible credit card lending. The first reform was implemented on 1 July 2018 and the remaining three came into effect on 1 January 2019. The four reforms are: 1. Ban on credit card limit increase invitations – This includes all forms of communication…

A tradition, when a person resolves to change undesired behaviour, accomplish a goal or otherwise improve their life. Babylonians made promises to their gods at the start of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts. Knights in the Medieval era took the “peacock vow” at the end of the Christmas…

“There is no reason in logic or principle to exclude statutory debts from the compass of provisions such as s 553C” as quoted in Smith v Boné  (2015) FCA 319 (at 418) was relied upon in Stone v Melrose Cranes & Rigging Pty Ltd [2018] FCA 530 (at 282) although it appears to have its…

Personal insolvencies drop 9.7% nationally in September 2018 quarter Personal insolvencies = bankruptcies, debt agreements & personal insolvency agreements Personal insolvencies dropped in all states except NSW (rise of 0.4% due to a rise in debt agreements). Bankruptcies fell in all states except WA. Bankruptcies at record quarterly low in South Australia. Bankruptcies in Tasmania…

The Government’s new Bill The Federal Government has recently issued its Exposure Draft of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Combating Illegal Phoenixing) Bill 2018, which was open for comment until 27 September 2018. This proposed Bill is part of the Government’s ongoing reform of Australia’s corporate insolvency regime and is the Government’s third tranche of insolvency…