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Statistics released last week by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) indicate:

1. the number of failed businesses exceeded 2500 for the third consecutive quarter during the first
   three months of 2012.
2. the number of external administration (EXAD) appointments in the first quarter of 2012 increased
   by 16.7 per cent compared with the 2011 March quarter.
3. Companies entering EXAD rose from 2598 in the December 2011 quarter to 2655 during the March quarter.
4. There has also been a significant rise in the number of ...
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   19
   MAY
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Practical Implications of the Personal Property Securities Act (PPSA)

Financiers and clients who supply goods on credit have been greatly impacted by the Federal Government’s Personal Property Securities Act which came into force on 30 January 2012.

The PPSA provides that:

1. Creditors have a 2 year transitional period in which to register a charge for any goods supplied before 30 January 2012.
2. The supplier only has security over goods supplied after 30 January 02012 if the supplier registers their security interest before ...
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   24
   APR
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Over the 2011-2012 year, the Gold Coast contributed 20%
of Queensland’s bankrupts and topped the list of
Australia’s bankruptcies per region.

The Insolvency and Trustee Service of Australia (ITSA) has broken down the number of personal bankruptcies across Australia according to postcode.

The Gold Coast and the Tweed Heads contributed more bankruptcies than any other .

More than 1900 Gold Coast residents were declared bankrupt last financial year, with 181 living in the suburb of Nerang!!

1707 personal bankruptcies were declared in 2010-11 for ...

All business names registered with the Office of Fair Trading, Queensland will be converted to a national business name and transferred to a new national register  on 28 May 2012.

The new national register is administered by the Australia Securities and Investments Commission.

The new national register will:

• Dispense with the need for business to register their name in more than one state or territory;
• Allow you to renew and register your business name online; and
• Result in reduced registration fees ($30.00 for one year ...
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  21
  MAR
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Trusts need to be set up properly or you may have an invalid trust.  For example, it is a requirement that a settlement sum be paid.  This is usually for $10.

In the case of Ashton, Mr Nicholas Corcoris was a property investor who purchased properties through trusts.  Mr Corcoris prepared the trust deeds himself, without the help of professionals.

Mr Corcoris and other entities associated with him objected to assessments made by the Commissioner of State Revenue.  They alleged the Commissioner ...

Victorian Minister for Manufacturing, Exports and Trade Richard Dalla-Riva announced today (8 March 2012) that Tomcar will become the first all-terrain vehicle to be manufactured in Australia, creating 50 direct jobs and an expected 300 downstream jobs for the automotive industry in Victoria.

Zeke Bentley met with the entrepreneurial Brim family in London in 2005 and since that time has helped the family secure permanent residency in Australia, and set up their entire car manufacturing business.

During this time, we have helped ...

Summary

In essence, The Phoenixing Bill, and the Similar Names Bill seek:

1. to attach personal liability to Directors who held officeholder positions in both the old entity and the new “phoenix” entity. That personal liability relates to the new entity’s debts, for a 5 year period into the future.
2. to empower ASIC to wind up the old entity so that employees can seek their unpaid entitlements through the Government’s General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme (GEERS).
3. To reduce the cost of publishing corporate insolvency ...
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   2
   MAR
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A $213 error on a $739,000 bankruptcy notice resulted from overlooking February 29 in a leap year – and this led to a bankruptcy notice being set aside in 1990.

$213 represented 0.02% of the amount sought on the $739,000 bankruptcy notice.

Bankruptcy notices need to be carefully drafted by experienced insolvency lawyers as they are prone to being set aside.

The rules are strict because of the drastic consequences that flow from failing to satisfy same.

In 1990, Sydney developer Andrew Clubb ...

Volatility in the Australian economy and global financial uncertainty continued to put pressure on Australian businesses in 2011 with the latest insolvency figures released by Australian Securities and Investments Commission revealing a record high of the collapse of 10,481 Australian businesses. That figure representative of a 52% increase in the historical average and an 11% increase from 2009 figures at the height of the Global Financial Crisis.

The number of companies entering into external administration for the past five years ...

The trustee has the power to prevent you leaving Australia whilst you are in bankruptcy

There is a common misconception that “going bankrupt” is an easy way to escape your debts.
Nothing could be further from truth.

A recent Federal Court decision (Pearce (Trustee) v Mulhern (Bankrupt) (No 4) [2012] FCA 54) highlighted the consequences to a bankrupt of not cooperating.
This is the focus of this article, and this case concerns an application by Mr Mulhern (a bankrupt) to travel to ...