Australia will see a raft of reforms to the national bankruptcy system introduced so that debtors involved in personal insolvency matters receive fairer outcomes. On Monday, Attorney-General (A-G) Mark Dreyfus said key changes would lift the stigma associated with filing for bankruptcy. The changes include increasing the timeframe in which a debtor may respond to…
Jul 7, 2024 10.30pm Subscribe to gift this article Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe. Subscribe now Already a subscriber? The threshold for involuntary bankruptcy will rise to $20,000 and bankrupts will have their official records cleared after seven years, under an overhaul of personal insolvency laws being unveiled…
The administrators handling the collapse of Booktopia have announced that orders placed with Australias largest online bookseller will not be filled and there may be no refunds either. It means out of pocket customers who placed orders prior to the company entering voluntary administration have now become, in effect, unsecured creditors which voids store credits…
Victoria’s Supreme Court of Appeal has wiped a punter’s $150,000 debt after ruling paperwork failures rendered the bets invalid. Bookmaker David McLauchlan took action against punter Allen Ng after the punter incurred hefty losses between February and April 2020. The County Court ruled in McLauchlan’s favour in 2022, ordering Ng to pay the debt and…
A 16-year-old Melbourne boy was able to gamble nearly $100,000, including at suburban pubs, despite his mother desperately seeking help, a court has heard. The Melbourne magistrates court heard that when his mother discovered his gambling habits, she began a frantic mission to get him help, only to be repeatedly turned away. In April last…
Last week I scored a trifecta, managing to upset people in three ways. First, for my supposed anti-immigration stance, second, for hating on Elon Musk (the bromance is still strong with some readers, even though his car company is as bad as the rest in terms of spying on drivers) and, finally, from animal lovers…
Revenues ongoing negotiations earlier this year with companies who availed of a pandemic-era warehoused tax debt scheme has been cited as a key reason for a decline in the number of small company restructurings in the first half of 2024, a new survey has found. According to research from Azets Ireland, 13 Scarp restructuring procedures…
New research into the Small Company Administrative Rescue Process (SCARP) scheme has shown that 206 jobs have been saved so far this year as the number of businesses starting the process drops significantly. The SCARP scheme was first introduced in late 2021 to help small and micro companies who are still viable, yet insolvent, restructure…
With businesses collapsing at levels not seen since 2012, Grant Thornton Australias John McInerney suggested that the small business restructuring scheme could be a more favourable option than a payment plan. He made the comments ahead of his session at the ACE24 Accounting Conference and Expo 2024, where he will unpack how accountants can help…
South Australian small businesses are facing a choice between calling in the liquidators or bringing in restructuring firms to go on payment plans amid mounting tax debts owed to the Australian Tax Office (ATO). At an information night held three weeks ago by licensed small business restructuring (SMB) firm Small Business Restructuring Specialists, five clients…