Australia’s government is considering a multibillion-dollar privatization of public health and welfare payments, as conservatives look for new ways to refill budget coffers emptied by an economic slowdown and collapsing prices of the country’s resource exports, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The Australian law firm that snapped up the bulk of scandal-hit insurance claims company Quindell has been forced into restructuring talks amid concerns over the deteriorating state of its finances, The Telegraph reported. Lenders to Slater & Gordon, Australia’s largest class-action law firm, have hired turnaround experts FTI Consulting in the UK as its problems mount following the company’s shock takeover of Quindell’s legal arm last year.

Dick Smith chief executive Nick Abboud has resigned a week after the failed Australian electronics retailer went into receivership with debt of A$390 million ($272.61 million), its receivers said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Don Grover has been appointed interim CEO, receivers Ferrier Hodgson said in a statement. Gover was formerly CEO of Retail Fusion brands and has more than 30 years experience in the industry. The receivers also launched advertisements on Tuesday seeking expressions of interest for the sale of the Dick Smith and Move businesses.

Clive Palmer has lashed out at the Queensland government for refusing to support his struggling Yabulu nickel refinery, as reports emerge that insolvency experts have been called in, The Guardian reported. Palmer released a statement saying the government’s recent refusal to assist Queensland Nickel by guaranteeing a $35m loan was making it “near impossible” to compete in the international marketplace.

ASX-listed coal seam gas (CSG) drilling contractor, Titan Energy Services Ltd, has become the latest victim of the commodity downturn, being placed into voluntary administration, according to a company statement. In its 2015 annual financial statements, the group said its ability to continue in business depended on several factors, including the ability to win new work and raise additional funds.

Australian tax authorities on Thursday published the records of hundreds of companies, including Google and Apple, which show that they paid little or no tax on their earnings in the country, the International New York Times reported. Of more than 1,500 largely foreign-owned companies that reported total earnings over 100 million Australian dollars ($72.11 million) in the 2014 financial year, more than one-third paid no tax, the Australian Taxation Office data showed.

Last week the Australian Securities and Investments Commission fired a shot across the bows of insolvency companies, The Weekly Times reported. In forcing Tony Matthews, of ­Anthony Matthews and Associates, into an “enforceable undertaking” ­arrangement, ASIC has effectively placed all insolvency practitioners on notice that creditors have every right to expect prompt, efficient, diligent and judicious action in relation to companies in financial strife.

The government has argued that the recommendations made by the Productivy Commission to change insolvency laws will foster more entrepreneurship and aid innovation, SkyNews.com.au reported. The default bankruptcy period will be reduced from three years to one while a safe harbour will protect directors from personal liability for insolvent trading if they appoint a professional restructuring adviser to develop a plan to turnaround a company in financial difficulty.

An IT distribution company that has operated for almost 20 years has collapsed into voluntary administration, SmartCompany.com.au reported. Altech Computers was established in 1997 and has offices and warehouses in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Auckland and Hong Kong. The business featured in BRW’s Fast 100 for several years between 2004 and 2006, coming in at number 100 in 2005 with turnover of more than $63 million for the 2004-05 financial year. Altech Computers was also named Microsoft’s Australian distribution partner of the year in 2008.

Canberra building subcontractors left tens of millions of dollars out of pocket by insolvencies and payment disputes are hoping and praying a Senate Committee will come to their rescue, The Canberra Times reported. The report of the Senate's Economics References Committee inquiry into insolvency in the construction industry is due to be tabled on Thursday afternoon. Wayne Richards said his Queanbeyan based Erincole Building Services lost more than $1 million in a dispute with the John Holland Group, the lead contractor on the National Portrait Gallery.