After a 10-month inquiry process, on 12 July 2023 the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services (PJC) delivered its final report on the effectiveness of Australia’s corporate insolvency laws.

In this alert, we distil some of the key findings from the almost 400-page report and consider what future law reforms might look like.

A COMPLEX AND INEFFICIENT SYSTEM

The High Court of Australia in Metal Manufactures Pty Limited v Morton [2023] HCA 1 has confirmed the view of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia that the "set off" defence under section 553C of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Act) is no longer available to claims by liquidators for an unfair preference claim made under section 588FA of the Act.

This decision brings finality to claims brought by Creditor Defendants to such claims and no doubt brings much joy to liquidators across Australia.

Background

Delaware has seen a significant uptick in the number of assignment for the benefit of creditors (ABC) filings. Through recent decisions, the Court of Chancery has sent a strong message that it expects parties pursuing this bankruptcy alternative to do a better job of justifying the relief they seek. This will require significantly more frequent and robust disclosures to the court and public.

From 15 February 2022, the UK Insolvency Service is granted new powers to investigate and disqualify or prosecute directors of dissolved UK companies. The Rating (Coronavirus) and Directors Disqualification (Dissolved Companies) Act (the Act) extends the Insolvency Service’s powers, on behalf of the UK Business Secretary, to deal with company directors who abuse the company dissolution process.

Introduction

For some time, the reliance on section 553C of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Act) as a "set-off" defence to an unfair preference claim, under section 588FA of the Act, has caused much controversy in the insolvency profession. Defendants of preference claims loved it, liquidators disliked it and the courts did not provide clear direction about its applicability – until now.

For some time, the reliance on section 553C of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Act) as a "set-off" defence to an unfair preference claim, under section 588FA of the Act, has caused much controversy in the insolvency profession. Defendants of preference claims loved it, liquidators disliked it and the courts did not provide clear direction about its applicability – until now.

In her recent keynote speech, delivered at the 25th IBA Competition Conference on 10 September 2021, European Commission (the Commission) Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager called for a green revolution—the replacement of a linear economy with a circular one, coupled with investments in infrastructure.

The UK government has announced that temporary restrictions on creditor action introduced in the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 are to be phased out. These temporary restrictions were put in place to protect businesses in financial distress, as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, from being forced into insolvency.

Even prior to the global impact of COVID-19, commercial bankruptcy filings were already on the rise. As stay-at-home orders caused many businesses to close or significantly curtail operations in 2020, financial struggles in the commercial sector mounted. Government assistance through the passage of different stimulus programs such as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (2020) and Coronavirus Response and Consolidated Appropriations Act (2021) has temporarily helped companies stave off difficult financial decisions.