Fair Entitlements Guarantee – Active Creditor and Recovery Initiatives
The Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) provides financial assistance for unpaid employment entitlements to eligible employees upon the liquidation or bankruptcy of their employer. We have written about the FEG scheme in the past and you can read more here. The FEG Recovery Program is administered by the Attorney-General’s Department and works to fund actions that […]
What are Unfair Preference transactions?
When a company is in liquidation, the appointed liquidator has the ability to recover ‘Unfair Preference’ transactions made by the company to its unsecured creditors. The ability of a liquidator to recover ‘Unfair Preference’ transactions helps to ensure that the assets of the company in liquidation are distributed equally among its creditors and that no […]
How long does property vest in a trustee in bankruptcy?
Upon the commencement of a bankruptcy, the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (“the Act”) provides for the vesting of the bankrupt’s property in the trustee (subject to certain exclusions – s116(2)). “Vesting” of property means that the trustee becomes the owner of the property and is able to deal with the property for the benefit of the […]
Unfair preference payment reforms – Aiming for a simpler and fairer process
Regular readers will be familiar with the notion of an unfair preference payment in a liquidation setting. For those unfamiliar with the concept, in simple terms, an unfair preference is a payment or transfer of assets by an insolvent company that gives one creditor an unfair benefit over other creditors. Payments that are deemed by […]
Cryptocurrency in bankruptcy
What is cryptocurrency? Cryptocurrency is a medium of exchange that is digital, encrypted and decentralized. For the most part, cryptocurrency is used for investing or as a speculative instrument, however, it has, of recent times, been accepted as a form of currency by some companies for the purchase of goods and services. Is cryptocurrency an […]
We are nearly returning to normal – What to expect from the UK economic experience
There is no doubt that from a COVID-19 perspective, ‘normal’ has never felt closer to returning to our way of life. The examples from around the world and from our neighbours over east suggest that we are not far away from putting the pandemic behind us and recent restriction easing announcements from the Premier were […]
ATO processing times and MVLs – What to be aware of when planning with your clients
We conduct a great many Members’ Voluntary Liquidations each year and often 30 June is a critical milestone to complete them for benefit of shareholders and their personal tax affairs. For further information on the MVL appointment process and how they can benefit your clients, you can read more here. The purpose of this […]
Who is who? Employee vs Contractor
On 9 February 2022, the High Court again confirmed the primacy of contractual terms when it handed down its decisions in Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union v Personnel Contracting Pty Ltd [2022] HCA 1 and ZG Operations Australia Pty Ltd v Jamsek [2022] HCA 2. CFMMEU v Personnel Contracting Background Mr McCourt, a […]
Director Penalty Notices (DPNs) haven’t been sighted for a long time. When they return, they will look a bit different – what you need to know
We have written several articles since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic regarding the relative lack of enforcement from the Australian Taxation Office with SMEs on the issue of debt recovery. It is well documented that the ATO has initiated just a handful of winding up petitions since the beginning of 2020. This ‘hands off’ […]
Strike the Pose and Break the Bias
On Tuesday 8th March we celebrate International Women’s Day, and this year in 2022 the campaign theme is #BreakTheBias. A common challenge that we all face on a daily basis is judgement, but IWD’s mission is to help that and try to create a world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. Imagine a world that’s […]