Director Penalty Notices: A refresher as the ATO ramps up collections activity
During 2022, the ATO issued almost 18,500 director penalty notices (DPNs) to directors of Australian companies. A further 52,000 directors received warnings, and the ATO has started referring certain debtors to credit reporting agencies. This is indicative of a significant uptick in collections activity following [...]
Don’t Pay Twice! Business Email Compromise
If you pay a debt to the wrong account because of a fraud you could well be required to pay twice. In the past three years losses due to business email compromise have risen from $3.8 million[1] to $132 million[2]. Typically such frauds take the form [...]
Asset Protection
Protecting your hard-earned assets from legal liabilities and claims makes a lot of sense and involves forward thinking and planning. Ideally, you would like to ensure that your wealth-creation structures are separated from "risky business". Any entity conducting business is at risk because of the nature [...]
Reminder of Relevant Principles in Applications for Extension of Time to Convene Creditors’ Meetings
Administrators often find themselves in a position where they need or desire further time to convene a second creditors’ meeting. The recent Federal Court case of Farnsworth v About Life Pty Limited (Administrator Appointed), in the matter of About Life Pty Limited (Administrator Appointed) [2019] [...]
Liquidators given Court’s approval to compromise judgment debts
In the recent decision of Sheahan, in the matter of BCI Finances Pty Limited (in liq) [2018] FCA 1499, Justice White of the Federal Court approved the entry by liquidators into an agreement compromising the debts owed to companies to which they were appointed. The [...]
How the Court assesses competing applications for substitution in winding up applications
Pointon Partners regularly appears for creditors at winding up applications in the Supreme Court of Victoria. Creditors owed debts by companies subject to winding up proceedings commenced by others may appear at such hearings as ‘supporting creditors’. Commonly, a company attempting to stave off being [...]
Ipso Facto Amendments: Do they apply to existing contracts?
The Government says the amendments apply only to contracts entered into after commencement. But what does the Bill say? The proposed Ipso Facto amendments[1] impose a stay on the enforcement of contractual rights arising by reason of: (a) an application or entry into a compromise [...]
Going behind a judgement debt in bankruptcy proceedings
Often, bankruptcy proceedings will be based on a judgement debt. In such proceedings, the Bankruptcy Court must satisfy itself that the debt being claimed by the petitioning creditor is truly owing, and often the petitioning creditor will rely on the judgement debt as proof of [...]
New Safe Harbour Provisions – Directors’ protection in insolvent trading situations
Australia’s insolvent trading laws are set to be drastically altered by the Treasury Laws Amendment (2017 Enterprise Incentives No. 2) Bill 2017 (Bill), which was passed by the senate on 11 September 2017. The imposition of personal liability on company directors for company debts in [...]
Court Of Appeal Examines What Constitutes A Supporting Affidavit In An Application To Set Aside A Statutory Demand
In the recent case of Imagebuild Group Pty Ltd v Fokust Pty Ltd [2017] VSCA 131, the Court of Appeal considered whether a ‘supporting affidavit’ had been sworn, served and filed within the time limit prescribed by section 459G of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) [...]