The Australian government has taken swift action to enact new legislation that significantly changes the insolvency laws relevant to all business as a result of the ongoing developments related to COVID-19

The Government is in the process of pushing the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill through Parliament, with it anticipated to become law later in June. The Bill represents the biggest overhaul of the UK’s insolvency legislation for over 30 years.

The Australian government has taken swift action to enact new legislation that significantly changes the insolvency laws relevant to all business as a result of the ongoing developments related to COVID-19.

Part One

The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill (the Bill) is passing through parliament at the moment. Some of the measures included in the Bill are in response to the current pandemic and will provide temporary easements for company directors from an acute economic downturn. Other measures have been under consideration for a while, and will be permanent.

Our restructuring colleagues provide some insights into the proposed new measures on their blog page.

The Government is in the process of pushing the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill through Parliament, with it anticipated to become law later in June. The Bill represents the biggest overhaul of the UK’s insolvency legislation for over 30 years.

As set out in the first blog in this series, the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill (the “Bill”) introduces a new debtor-in-possession moratorium to give companies breathing space in order to try to rescue the company as a going concern.

This quick guide summarises the duties that directors of companies incorporated in England and Wales are subject to, and how those duties change when the company is insolvent or at risk of being insolvent. It also provides an overview of the personal risk to directors when the company is in financial difficulty.

This note is intended as an overview and should not be relied on as legal advice. Should you require legal advice in relation to your specific circumstances, please contact the Restructuring & Insolvency team members whose contact details are at the end of this note.

What is it?

A new form of restructuring plan (RP) which can be entered into with all creditors. It is found within the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill (Bill) and assuming it is enacted in its current form, it will sit next to schemes or arrangements in the Companies Act 2006 (rather than the Insolvency Act 1986) by way of a new Part 26A, ss895-901, and as with a scheme of arrangement the RP will seek to achieve an agreed compromise / arrangement between a company, its members and/or its creditors.

The UK Government has published the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill (the Bill) that proposes to make both temporary and permanent changes to the UK insolvency laws

Around the globe, our lawyers are receiving a large number of enquiries about mitigating the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19) on companies' business operations and finances. Governments in several countries have reacted quickly to try to mitigate COVID-19's impact by changing or amending their insolvency laws. This memorandum is an o