Are you a retail shop or business owner looking for new premises? Here are some questions to consider before signing a retail or commercial lease. Is it a commercial lease or a retail lease? It’s important to know what type of lease applies because the regulatory framework is different for Read more…
A garnishee order is a form of enforcement action that can be used for the recovery of debts. It can be served on a third party who owes money to the debtor, directing the third party to pay that money to the entity that issued the garnishee notice, rather than the debtor. Ordinarily, a court-ordered judgment is required before a garnishee order can be made. However, the ATO can issue a garnishee notice in relation to outstanding tax debts without a court judgment being entered, against any person or business who owes money to the tax debtor or holds money on their behalf. (more…)
In the decision of Linc Energy Ltd (In Liq) [2017] QSC 053, Justice Jackson found that the pre-existing Queensland environmental laws have priority over inconsistent Commonwealth Corporations Act disclaimer provisions. The matter involved the liquidator’s right under the Corporations Act to disclaim onerous property pursuant to sections 568 and 568D of the Corporations Act, and the pre-existing State-based environmental obligations imposed upon companies. (more…)
A proposed amendment to the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) should now encourage all qualified advisers i.e. accountants and solicitors, to be proactive in reviewing their client’s ability to deal with corporate and personal insolvency. (more…)
Situations can arise where a payment is made by one party to another party by mistake. This occurs, for example, where a debtor makes a payment to the incorrect entity within a group of companies, a bank remits funds to the account of an unintended recipient, or a finance company makes payment to a supplier of equipment based upon forged invoices. (more…)
Once a company has been placed into liquidation, the appointed liquidator is required, pursuant to the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), to investigate and realise (recover) assets of the company for distribution to unsecured creditors (i.e. persons/companies owed money by the company in liquidation). (more…)
When is a holding company liable for the debts incurred by its subsidiary company? Holding or parent companies control the shares of other companies, being subsidiary companies. These holding companies can be liable for the debts incurred by their subsidiary companies, without having been involved in the transaction that incurred the debt. (more…)
The judgment of Independent Contractor Services (Aust) Pty Limited ACN 119 186 971 (in liquidation) (No 2) [2016] NSWSC 106, delivered on 23 February 2016, held that a liquidator appointed to a company, which acts solely as the corporate trustee of a trust, must: 1. approach the Court to obtain approval of the liquidator’s remuneration and the liquidator’s disbursements (which the liquidator has a right of indemnity for in priority to trust creditor claims); and 2. distribute trust assets to creditors equally, including employee claims, with no special priority as set out in the statutory order of priority codified by section 556 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). (more…)