In December 2016 we posted on the NSW Law Reform Commission’s recommendation to replace section 6 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1946 (NSW). Six months later, we can now confirm that section 6 is (finally) dead and herald the new era of the Civil Liability (Third Party Claims Against Insurers) Act 2017 (NSW) (Act). The new Act is now live (from 1 June 2017) and is a welcome clarification of the confusion and ambiguity caused by section 6.

Long-awaited law reform to bring Australia's insolvency regime into step with many of its trading counterparts is slated to be enacted in the second half of 2017. The text of the law is currently before parliament for debate. If passed, Australia will see:

The Australian government has released draft legislation which proposes significant legislative change to insolvency laws in Australia. One of the changes proposed, is that directors will not be liable for insolvent trading in certain circumstances where the company is undertaking a restructure.

Under the proposed safe harbour reform, directors will not be liable for debts incurred whilst the company is insolvent if they can show that:

Japan

Report published on ensuring fair and timely disclosure of information to investors. The FSA announced that the Task Force on Fair Disclosure Rule of the Working Group on Financial Markets of the Financial System Council has published the “Report - Ensuring fair and timely disclosure of information to investors.” (3/3/2017)

Hong Kong

The increase in the availability of alternate capital in Australia over the past decade has provided a landscape for well-tested global restructuring techniques to be applied locally. This includes 'loan to own' strategies.

The Supreme Court of New South Wales has recently handed down its decision in proceedings (“Arrium Proceedings”) brought by a number of lenders against former officers and employees of Arrium Limited and its subsidiaries (“Arrium”).

Introduction

Justice Ball’s landmark decision¹ dismissing the lenders’ claims addressed various important issues that often arise when a borrower is facing financial distress in Australia, including:

Hogan Lovells Publications | 29 May 2020

Implications of COVID-19 on the Australian Mining Industry

The Australian Government has introduced new laws which are intended to avoid unnecessary corporate insolvencies in light of the challenges presented by the unfolding COVID-19 global pandemic. The new laws came into effect on 25 March 2020 and include:

In July 2017, we wrote about the case of Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd v Forge Group Power Pty Ltd (in liquidation) (receivers and managers appointed)[1], in which the Western Australian Supreme Court held that rights of set off enjoyed by an insolvent company’s contractual counterparties would not apply if the company had granted a security interest over the relevant contractual righ

New York Bankruptcy Judge Sean H. Lane determined that the Australian debtors in a Chapter 15 foreign recognition proceeding satisfied the U.S. property requirements of Section 109(a) of the Bankruptcy Code on the basis of attorney retainers and claims against insiders located in the U.S.