The Australian chapter of GRR’s Asia-Pacific Restructuring Review 2021, authored by Herbert Smith Freehills, is now available and reproduced below.
This latest edition covers major Australian legislative developments, transactions and case law relating to restructuring and insolvency in Australia over the past 12 months including:
Legislation
- Temporary COVID-19 insolvency law amendments
- Anti-phoenixing amendments to the Corporations Act
Key restructurings
We are pleased to announce the publication of the third edition of the Herbert Smith Freehills Guide to Restructuring, Turnaround and Insolvency, Asia Pacific.
Against a backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic downturn, we are seeing companies and lenders respond to a new and challenging business environment. The challenges associated with this new environment are further exacerbated as the influencing factors change in nature and intensity.
The Australian Federal Government has announced significant insolvency law reforms that will affect small businesses with liabilities of less than $1 million. The reforms are expected to commence on 1 January 2021 and will introduce, among other measures, a new debt restructuring process and liquidation pathway for small businesses which the Government intends to be simpler, more flexible and more efficient than existing processes.
In brief
The Australian Federal Government has announced the temporary amendments to insolvency and corporations laws will be extended until 31 December 2020 in light of the continuing challenges of COVID-19.
In brief
Het retentierecht dat reeds lang aanvaard wordt als een handig middel om alsnog betaald te worden, kreeg pas in 2018 een wettelijke basis met de nieuwe Pandwet. Onlangs kreeg het retentierecht nog een een steuntje bij van het Hof van Cassatie.
1. Waar gaat het over?
Het retentierecht is een handig middel voor schuldeisers die niet betaald worden en in het bezit zijn van een goed van hun schuldenaar.
On 24 April 2020, Royal Decree No 15 has been published which temporarily protects companies against conservatory and enforcement attachment and bankruptcy (and judicial dissolution) and the dissolution of agreements due to non-payment.
This does not affect the obligation to pay due debts.
This temporary suspension of legal actions that may lead to insolvency applies from 24 April 2020 to 17 May 2020 for all enterprises whose continuity is threatened by the corona crisis, provided that they were not already in default on 18 March 2020.
The Australian Federal Government has now passed temporary amendments to insolvency and corporations laws in light of the challenges COVID-19 poses to many otherwise profitable and viable businesses.
The Australian Federal Government has announced today (22 March 2020) that it intends to make temporary amendments to insolvency and corporations laws in light of the challenges COVID-19 poses to many otherwise profitable and viable businesses.
In particular, the government intends to relieve directors from the risk of personal liability for insolvent trading, where the debts are incurred in the ordinary course of business.
The Australian Federal Government has announced today (22 March 2020) that it intends to make temporary amendments to insolvency and corporations laws in light of the challenges COVID-19 poses to many otherwise profitable and viable businesses.
In particular, the government intends to relieve directors from the risk of personal liability for insolvent trading, where the debts are incurred in the ordinary course of business.
On 22 August 2019, the Federal Court of Australia (FCA) held that it could make a request to the New Zealand High Court (NZHC) that there be a joint hearing of those courts in respect of applications relating to the pooling of various funds held by companies subject to Australian and New Zealand liquidations, respectively.
Such a ‘letter of request’ could be issued by the FCA to a foreign court in the context of an Australian insolvency process pursuant to section 581 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act).