Overview

On 18 February 2020, the Treasury Laws Amendments (Combating Illegal Phoenixing) Act 2020 (TLA(CIP)) was enacted. In broad terms, the TLA (CIP):

Full Court of Federal Court rebuts presumption of advancement – Commissioner of Taxation v Bosanac [2021] FCAFC 158

Introduction

A recent decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia has set a low water mark in rebutting the presumption of advancement. The decision has significant implications for professionals and businesspeople who have structured their affairs for asset protection, as well as bankruptcy trustees seeking to recover assets.

The Melbourne RIT team recently published an article on the decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia in Badenoch (No 1) [2021] FCAFC 64. On 24 June 2021, the Full Court published a second judgment that fixed the start and end dates of the ‘single transaction’ between Gunns and Badenoch.

The Gunns liquidators have since made a special leave application to the High Court to appeal both of the Full Court’s decisions.

Administrators deprived of their right of indemnity

The pavlova, women’s right to vote, the flat white, the Rugby World Cup… New Zealand has a storied history of beating Australia to the punch. However, Aussie liquidators might not be so keen to throw their trans-Tasman cousins a friendly ‘chur!’ as their ability to pursue unfair preference claims continues to be eroded following the recent Full Court decision in Badenoch.