Under the Act of August 10 2016 modernising the Company Law 1915 (which entered into force on August 23 2016) Luxembourg law now officially recognises that companies can be wound up by means of a simplified procedure. This is an unquestionably useful tool which will further enhance Luxembourg's business-friendly reputation.

In August I presented on cross-border insolvency at the joint Federal Court of Australia and Law Council of Australia conference on corporations law. The audience consisted of over 30 Federal Court judges and a range of other experienced corporate and insolvency lawyers.

There have been recent reports that APR Energy PLC has threatened the Australian Government with a demand for $200 million in damages based on a claim under the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement after it lost its security interest in multi-million dollar wind turbines it leased to an Australian company due to the operation of a provision in the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) (PPSA).

On Friday 7 October 2016, McCullough Robertson successfully obtained orders on behalf of a US Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee, requiring payment to her of money held by the Public Trustee of Queensland (Public Trustee) on behalf of a US bankrupt and her former husband. As far as we know, this is the first time that the Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency (Model Law) has been used in Australia to obtain an order allowing the repatriation of funds to a foreign representative that are not the foreign debtor’s assets.

Thanks to the Act of 10 August 2016 modernizing Luxembourg company law, which entered into force on 23 August 2016 (the “New Act”), the Grand Duchy now officially recognizes the possibility for companies to be wound up by means of a simplified procedure. This is unquestionably a useful tool which will further enhance Luxembourg's business-friendly reputation.

Last year’s Queensland District Court decision in Morton v Rexel Electrical Supplies Pty Ltd [2015] QDC 49 (Rexel) caused quite a stir in insolvency circles. In Rexel, Searles DCJ (a former partner of McCullough Robertson) found that section 553C of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Act) could apply to reduce an unfair preference claim brought by a liquidator, by allowing the amount still owing by the company to be set-off against the liquidator’s claim.

Last month former Kleenmaid director Bradley Young not so valiantly marched into the history books when found guilty of 17 charges of insolvent trading and one count of fraud after one of the longest criminal trials ever held in Queensland. This followed fellow director, Gary Armstrong, pleading guilty to two counts of insolvent trading and one count of fraud.

Shipping companies world-wide are suffering from depressed freight rates caused by years of weakening demand—particularly from China—as global trade has slowed. The latest casualty is one of the largest to date, South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping (Hanjin), the country's largest shipping firm and the world's seventh-biggest container carrier, which was placed into receivership by a South Korean court on Wednesday after its financiers ended financial support.

Op 13 juli 2016 zijn de consultatieversies van het wetsvoorstel Wet herstel en afwikkeling van verzekeraars (het "Consultatie Wetsvoorstel") en bijbehorende memorie van toelichting ("MvT') gepubliceerd. De consultatieperiode is op 28 augustus 2016 gesloten. Met het Consultatie Wetsvoorstel beoogt de minister het wettelijk kader voor herstel en afwikkeling van verzekeraars te versterken.

Per 1 juli 2016 worden een viertal nieuwe wetten ingevoerd die van belang zijn voor bestuurders en ondernemingen.