Permanent changes to Bankruptcy Notices, bankruptcy reforms, and updated Indexed Amounts
Whilst the majority of your clients are likely to be corporate groups or trust structures, at the end of the day, directors and individuals still face solvency challenges. And with the knock-on effect of COVID-19 still not fully felt here in the West, it is likely that we will see a slow increase in insolvency […]
Debt relief notifications paving the way for small business restructuring – Is the wave beginning to form?
On 1 January 2021, the hotly debated and greatly anticipated small business insolvency reforms came into effect. As you probably already know, the main changes include – Small Business Restructuring (SBR) Simplified Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidation (SCVL) At the time of publication, no formal appointments have been made as yet nationwide under these reforms, indicating to […]
Too many classes of shares! Shareholder rights in MVLs where records are silent
We conduct numerous Members’ Voluntary Liquidations (MVLs) here at Equinox (Formerly HLB Mann Judd Insolvency WA). Some of the entities that are wound up span multiple generations of family members, particularly in the farming industry. As a result, original company records – such as the old Memorandum and Articles of Association – hark back to […]
4 key questions to ask your client in signs of distress
My name is Louise Brnich, I am one of the Insolvency File Support Officers here at Equinox (Formerly HLB Mann Judd Insolvency WA) and my role involves talking to stakeholders and creditors about the status and details of a Company’s Liquidation and one of the most common questions I get asked is “Where did the […]
War story: A reminder for new directors. DPNs and becoming a director – a bullet dodged
Director Penalty Notices are a regular topic that I write articles about – and for good reason. They are very powerful in their operation of making directors personally liable for company tax debts. Recent reforms bringing Goods & Services Tax into the regime further strengthen the Australian Taxation Office’s power to influence the behaviours of […]
COVID 19 and Personal Insolvency
As a result of the Federal Government’s stimulus measures for businesses and individuals that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the decline in the number of personal insolvency appointments has been noticeable. There were 4,239 new personal insolvencies in the June quarter 2020, representing a 35.1% drop from the same period last year. It […]
Advances for employee entitlements – Get it right up-front to protect the statutory priority later
When a company enters a period of financial distress, cash flow is difficult to manage. Sometimes this means that third party funds are required to pay employee wages, superannuation contributions and other entitlements (leave and termination etc.) which result in the creation of a loan account. In order to protect the funder in the event […]
How Do I Reinstate a Deregistered Company?
We have recently come across several cases in which stakeholders of a company, which had previously been deregistered, have sought advice as to how to reinstate the company to its previous position as a legally registered company. Reinstating a company, from a state in which it legally no longer exists, will return it to its […]
Temporary insolvent trading relief – The devil is in the detail
In March 2020, amongst several other economic initiatives set in motion in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government imposed temporary ‘safe harbour’ relief to directors for breaches of the insolvent trading provisions of the Corporations Act 2001 (section 588G). The relief was due to expire on 25 September 2020; however, was recently extended […]
Small business insolvency reforms – What you need to know to inform your clients
In preparation for the approaching possible ‘tidal wave’ of insolvency appointments likely to commence in early 2021, the Federal Government has announced its intention to roll out a simplified restructuring solution for micro and small businesses, based on the US ‘debtor in possession’ model. Additionally, there will also be a simplified liquidation process, aimed at […]