Iconic Victorian discount retailer Dimmeys is close to administration, as yesterday it copped a $3 million penalty for breaching product safety laws. Dimmeys and distribution company Starite Distributors were penalised $3 million and $600,000 respectively for breaching product safety laws on girls’ padded swimwear, baby bath toys, cosmetic sets and basketball rings. The Federal Court also ruled the director of both companies, Douglas Zappelli, be fined $120,000 and banned from managing corporations for six years.

With Christmas just weeks away 76 people have lost their jobs as another Mackay business has been forced to close its doors. MACS Engineering went into voluntary administration yesterday with Derrick Vickers and Darryl Kirk, of PwC, appointed as administrators. The decision has come as a shock to many. Director Simon Mortess only spoke with the Daily Mercury in August about the company's expectation of riding out the mining downturn. At the time, Mr Mortess said they had decided to diversify their business into coal seam gas, which was part of a strategy that started two years ago.

Regional NSW carrier Brindabella Airlines is in the hands of receivers KordaMentha after it failed to recover from the grounding of eight of its 10 aircraft because of overdue maintenance checks, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. Commonwealth Bank had a fixed and floating charge over the Canberra airline's assets. Brindabella said on Saturday it had "temporarily" suspended operations even though the Civil Aviation Safety Authority was allowing two of its Jetstream aircraft to remain in service.

Australia's Treasury painted a grimmer growth outlook for the US$1.5 trillion economy, as the new conservative government searched for support to end a political impasse over the country's debt ceiling, The Wall Street Journal reported. Australia's Treasury Secretary Martin Parkinson said it would be "prudent" to raise the legislated debt cap from 300 billion Australian dollars (US$282 billion) to A$500 billion, given a worsening economic outlook as the country grapples with the end of a decadelong resources boom.

Former Labor leaders Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard have landed the party in dangerous new financial territory, with individual members warned ahead of this year's election that they would be held personally responsible if the party traded while insolvent, Business Spectator reported on an Australian Financial Review story. The newspaper said the warning was handed down in June by the party’s long-time legal advisor, Tony Lang, after Mr Rudd’s no-holes-barred 2007 campaign saw the party sell most of its assets.

Japanese restaurant chain Wagamama has gone into voluntary administration, and its Southbank venue in Melbourne has been shut down, The Age reported. Administrator KPMG took control of the business on Tuesday. Staff at the restaurant chain received news that the company behind Wagamama had gone into administration on Thursday and Friday. KPMG partner and administrator Ian Hall said the Southbank restaurant had been closed soon after the business was taken over. "The reason being was that it was not profitable," he said.

Adventurewear retailer Snowgum have lurched into voluntary administration following a dispute over rent with a landlord of one of its shops in the face of a general downturn in consumer confidence and tough times in the retail sector, BusinessDay reported. In business since 1926, and selling a range of outdoor clothing with a focus on functional performance fabrics, it operates out of 20 stores.

Small and medium-sized companies continue to dominate insolvency statistics, with 80 per cent of failed businesses having fewer than 20 employees and less than $100,000 in assets, the Herald Sun reported. Creditors to these companies were also big losers, receiving a maximum of just 11c for every dollar they were owed, according to a new report by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission released yesterday.

The number of people seeking work in Australia fell to a seven-year low, signaling disillusionment with the shrinking opportunities in a resource-rich economy strained by a sharp slowdown in mining investment, The Wall Street Journal reported. Declining participation in the job market helped drive a surprise fall in the unemployment rate to 5.6% in September from 5.8% a month earlier—mirroring a trend in other major developed economies like the U.S., where the jobless rate has fallen as people choose to leave the work force.

Redbank Power Station, the 151-megawatt coal-fired power station in New South Wales' Hunter Valley, has gone into receivership after negotiations on restructuring its $192.7 million of debt broke down as Redbank’s cash flow couldn’t meet its creditors' repayment schedule, the Business Spectator reported. Creditors have been in discussion with Redbank since 2010. “The operation of the power station will continue as normal,” a statement said.