Legislation and proposed legislation
Government consults on proposals for technology neutrality in the distribution of company meeting communications
The Government has proposed a technology neutral mode of distributing company meeting notices and materials which aims to facilitate innovation and reduce economic and time costs for companies, while maintaining an appropriate level of shareholder engagement.
Major insolvency reform: Getting the (ipso) factos straight
In brief
In brief
Insolvency reform: let’s not forget about the scheme of arrangement regime (again!)
In brief
A recent decision of the Federal Court provides a timely warning for businesses engaged in cross-border trade where debts may be expressed in a foreign currency. The take away point of the decision is that in issuing bankruptcy notices based on a judgment debt expressed in a foreign currency and allowing for payment in Australian currency, care must be taken to ensure the correct foreign exchange rate is applied.
CGU Insurance Limited v Blakeley & Ors [2016] HCA 2
The High Court of Australia has held unanimously1 that a person who commences proceedings against an insolvent company or a bankrupt individual can join that defendant’s insurer to the proceedings and seek a declaration that the insurer is liable to indemnify the defendant.
The government's proposed changes to Australia's insolvency laws as part of the NISA are:
Although most western legal systems have recognised for some decades the public benefit in rehabilitating failed enterprises, some countries do it better than others. To some extent, this is because of differences in local legislation (sometimes small, but with far-reaching effects), which either shapes, or is shaped by, popular or political attitudes to business failure.
Mango Boulevard Pty Ltd & Anor v Whitton & Ors [2015] FCA 1169
A bankruptcy trustee’s notice objecting to discharge on one of the special grounds specified in the Bankruptcy Act 1966 can be valid even if based on additional unstated reasons, so long as those reasons are directed to the achievement of a purpose of the law of bankruptcy.
Since the Global Financial Crisis it has been increasingly common for parties involved in property settlement disputes to be fighting over property with a net negative value or, in extreme cases, for one party to be declared bankrupt.
Despite common perception, a spouse being declared bankrupt in the middle of court proceedings for property settlement does not automatically end the proceedings or mean that the bankrupt’s assets are put out of reach of the other spouse in a property settlement.