Recent studies that have measured the levels of shareholder protection in Australia and compared them internationally have highlighted the relative strength of Australian shareholder protection. However, the question as to why this is so remains unanswered. Theories suggest that the development...

This article presents an empirical analysis of an innovative financial counselling service offered to self-represented debtors in the Bankruptcy List of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia in 2014 and 2015. This pilot service offered on-site financial counselling to debtors who attended the...

Bankruptcy has always been a source of significant stigma. The first Elizabethan statutes regarded bankruptcy as a quasi-criminal state, punishable by public shaming, imprisonment and, in some cases, death. More modern regimes have recognised that bankruptcy serves important economic objectives,...

Bankruptcy is widely regarded as a means of rehabilitation for debtors in severe financial hardship. To date, however, there have been few attempts to study its long term impact on individuals' finances, health, social relationships and general quality of life. The authors address this gap in...

This study is the first empirically based analysis of business bankruptcy to be conducted in Australia. It aims to identify key differences between debtors who declare business bankruptcy and those who declare non-business or “personal” bankruptcy, and to explore the extent to which there...

While the majority of those who declare bankruptcy do so voluntarily, a significant proportion are forced into bankruptcy as a result of legal action. This paper interrogates data obtained from the Australian Financial Security Authority to explore the attributes of debtors who go bankrupt...

It is well established in a number of Commonwealth jurisdictions that company directors are subject to a duty to consider the interests of creditors as the company nears insolvency. The precise contours of this duty are, however, indeterminate. Particular questions surround when the duty arises...

The authors report the results of an empirical study of the use of debt agreements in Australian personal insolvency law. Debt agreements were introduced into Australian personal insolvency law in 1996 as an alternative to bankruptcy. This alternative has become increasingly popular, and in 2010...

This article presents the results of the first empirical study focused on older Australians in bankruptcy. Our study — based on the examination of a large and unique dataset obtained by the authors from the bankruptcy regulator — provides a valuable insight into the severe financial...

Directors of Australian companies are subject to a duty to prevent their company trading whilst it is insolvent. The duty is controversial. Over a period of at least ten years, a series of reforms have been proposed, leading up to the introduction, in 2017, of a safe harbour for directors where...