After last year’s significant reforms to Australia’s insolvency framework, the Government has demonstrated a further commitment to simplifying and streamlining insolvency law to allow viable businesses that encounter economic challenges to restructure and continue trading.

This commitment is demonstrated by the Government continuing to examine ways to improve Australia's insolvency laws, including consulting on options to:

The Budget reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to implementing reforms to support consumers and businesses affected by COVID-19.

The Government confirmed the implementation of a number of measures designed to reduce the regulatory burden to ensure a timely flow of credit and resolution for distressed business. These include:

The global M&A market has remained strong from the end of 2017 into 2018, with the total deals announced in the first half of 2018 making it the best period for global M&A yet. With stockholders pressuring larger companies to grow their revenues and the strong liquidity position of many companies, it is a sellers’ market.