On 7 September 2020, the federal government announced that the temporary changes to the creditors' statutory demand and insolvent trading laws have been extended to 31 December 2020.

Key takeouts

In March 2020, the Commonwealth Government's early responses to the economic consequences of the COVID-19 included temporarily suspending and changing important elements of Australia's insolvency laws. These temporary changes were due to expire on 25 September 2020. The government has now announced that this period will be extended to 31 December 2020.

The Government has implemented significant temporary measures to ensure that our insolvency laws and processes do not expose companies and individuals to undue risk. This will hopefully avoid a potentially unprecedented wave of insolvencies.

Key takeouts

The Government announced a six month suspension of insolvent trading laws.

The relevant debts will still be due and payable by the company in the normal way.

Egregious cases of dishonesty and fraud will still be subject to criminal penalties.

The Federal Budget update focused on Australia's economic position and the impact of the Government's response to COVID-19 and the 2019 – 20 Bushfires. Though no new measures were specifically announced, there were some additional items for certain existing programmes.

Key forecasted Budget figures

In a decision of first impression entered on June 3, 2020, a Chicago bankruptcy court (“Court”) held that a restaurant tenant was excused from paying a significant portion of its rent under the force majeure provisions of its lease because of the governor’s executive order prohibiting in-house dining during the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] This decision is highly significant for landlords and tenants whose ability to service their clients has similarly been restricted by government orders.

The bankruptcy trustee of a bank holding company was not entitled to a consolidated corporate tax refund when a bank subsidiary had incurred losses generating the refund, held the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit on May 26, 2020. Rodriguez v. FDIC (In re United Western Bancorp, Inc.), 2020 WL 2702425(10th Cir May 26, 2020). On remand from the U.S. Supreme Court, the Tenth Circuit, as directed, applied “Colorado law to resolve” the question of “who owns the federal tax refund.” Id., at *2.

The Federal Court of Australia has recently exercised its powers to:

The economic impacts of COVID-19 are unexpected and significant. While the Australian Government has announced a number of temporary reforms to address these impacts, there remains risk for directors of companies that are unable to pay their debts as and when they are due. 

The Government has announced significant temporary measures to ensure that our insolvency laws and processes do not expose companies and individuals to undue risk. This will hopefully avoid a potentially unprecedented wave of insolvencies. 

Key takeouts

The Government announced a six month suspension of insolvent trading laws.

The relevant debts will still be due and payable by the company in the normal way. 

A bankruptcy court’s preliminary injunction was “not a final and immediately appealable order,” held the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware on Dec. 10, 2019. In re Alcor Energy, LLC, 2019 WL 6716420, 4 (D. Del. Dec. 10, 2019). The court declined to “exercise [its] discretion” under 28 U.S.C. §158(a)(3) to hear the interlocutory appeal. Id., citing 16 Wright & Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure, §3926.1 (3d ed. 2017) (“There is no provision for appeal as of right from an injunction order of a bankruptcy judge to the district court.”).

The Treasury Laws Amendment (Combating Illegal Phoenixing) Bill 2019 was passed by both houses of Parliament on 5 February 2020, with an amendment made by the Senate to review the operation and effectiveness of the legislation after five years accepted by the House of Representatives.