This is the final report of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services’ inquiry into the effectiveness of Australia’s corporate insolvency laws in protecting and maximising value for the benefit of all interested parties and the economy.

The Committee inquired into matters including:

1. trends in the use of corporate insolvency in Australia;
2. the operation of the existing legislation, common law, and regulatory arrangements, including recent reforms;
3. other areas for reform, such as, unfair preference claims, trusts with corporate trustees, safe harbours, and international developments;
4. supporting business access to corporate turnaround capabilities;
5. the role, remuneration, financial viability, and conduct of corporate insolvency practitioners; and
6. the role of government agencies in the corporate insolvency system.

In the Committee’s assessment, Australia’s corporate insolvency system is overly complex, difficult to access, and creates unnecessary cost and confusion for both debtors and creditors. Tellingly, few parties seem satisfied with the system as it stands. Unsecured creditors are understandably frustrated by stubbornly low returns in insolvency processes. Debtors, particularly smaller businesses, regard opportunities for restructure as lacking, and system costs as excessive. Insolvency practitioners and other observers consider the system is not appropriately resourced to achieve its purposes.