The recent Federal Court of Australia (Court) decision in KASH Aboriginal Corporation ICN 108 (Administrators Appointed) No 2 [2012] FCA 789 confirms that an administrator of a company who acts honestly and reasonably may be protected from personal liability for any debts incurred while carrying out an administration.

Background

Before the recent decision in Rubin and another v Eurofinance SA and others and New Cap Reinsurance Corporation (In liq) and another v AE Grant [2012] UKSC 46 (the joint appeal of two earlier cases) (the Rubin/New Cap Appeal), an insolvency judgment obtained in an Australian court could be enforced in the UK despite falling outside of the traditional common law enforceability rules.

The Rubin/New Cap Appeal has now removed this special treatment afforded to foreign insolvency judgments and the old common law rules once again apply.