Expertise

The right process begins with the right diagnosis.

Formal insolvency processes are tools, not outcomes. The first task is to understand the position, the available time and what each stakeholder is trying to achieve.

Small business restructuring

When it may be relevant

A formal, lower-cost restructuring process for an eligible small business that is viable but cannot meet its debts as they fall due.

What an early discussion clarifies

Eligibility, tax and employee obligations, funding, creditor position and whether the proposed plan can be delivered.

Practical example

Advisers reviewing cash flow information in a tile wholesaling showroom and warehouse.

Case note

A viable tile wholesaler dealing with legacy debt

An anonymised tile-importing and wholesaling business had returned to profitable trading after several difficult years, but still carried $600,000 of legacy debt: $500,000 to the ATO and $100,000 to trade suppliers. Current cash flow supported future operations, but not a conventional repayment plan.

Without a restructure, the illustration assumes the $500,000 ATO balance is amortised over 24 months at 11% per annum and the $100,000 supplier balance is repaid evenly over the same period.
The restructuring proposal offered creditors $250,000 over 24 months, with no interest charged under the proposal.
On those assumptions, the monthly cash requirement fell from approximately $27,471 to $10,417—a reduction of approximately $17,054 each month.
The proposal addressed legacy debt while allowing a currently profitable business to keep trading and meet its ongoing obligations.

24-month cash-flow comparison

Path	Amount	Interest	Monthly	24-month total
ATO debt plan	$500,000	11%	$23,304	$559,294
Trade supplier plan	$100,000	0%	$4,167	$100,000
Combined conventional plans	$600,000	Mixed	$27,471	$659,294
SBR proposal	$250,000	0%	$10,417	$250,000

Illustrative calculation only. It assumes 24 equal monthly payments, an 11% nominal annual rate compounded monthly on the ATO balance, no interest on the supplier balance, and no fees, penalties or timing differences. Actual ATO interest is calculated under the applicable rules and rates. Liquidation is not shown as a monthly repayment plan because returns depend on asset realisations, costs and priority claims.

This case study is anonymised and identifying details have been omitted or changed. It illustrates an approach, not a guaranteed outcome.

Voluntary administration

When it may be relevant

Where a company needs immediate protection and an independent assessment of whether a deed, sale or other outcome may serve creditors better than liquidation.

What an early discussion clarifies

Urgency, available funding, trading, security, sale options, director objectives and the evidence needed for a credible proposal.

Practical example

An operating manufacturing facility with an active production line and workers in the distance.

Case note

A purchaser-funded DOCA preserved a manufacturing business

An anonymised mid-sized manufacturer entered voluntary administration with approximately $2 million of debt. The director did not propose a deed. Instead, the administrators conducted an expression-of-interest campaign to test the market for the operating business.

The campaign produced a purchaser who wanted to acquire control of the company rather than buy isolated assets.
The purchaser proposed and funded a deed of company arrangement, with the contribution assessed against fair market value and the estimated return from liquidation.
Under the deed, the purchaser contribution was distributed to participating creditors in full and final settlement of their claims, subject to the deed terms, and control of the company changed.
The agreed structure preserved the operating business and dozens of jobs while addressing the employee obligations identified in the transaction.
Creditors received a better estimated outcome than an immediate shutdown, which would have crystallised substantial employee claims and reduced value for secured and unsecured creditors.

This case study is anonymised and identifying details have been omitted or changed. It illustrates an approach, not a guaranteed outcome.

Liquidation

When it may be relevant

Where a company is insolvent and an orderly wind-up, investigation and distribution process is required.

What an early discussion clarifies

Appointment route, assets, employees, secured creditors, director exposure, records and immediate preservation issues.

Practical example

A closed café with chairs neatly placed and an apron and keys resting on the counter.

Case note

An orderly exit ended a cycle of personal funding

An anonymised café in Cleveland had been supported by hundreds of thousands of dollars of the owner's personal funds through several difficult years. Competition constrained pricing, the landlord could not support a restructure, and the owner had not paid herself for more than six months.

The café had been marketed for sale for 12 months, but the asking price remained above what buyers were prepared to pay.
A director penalty notice created a point at which further delay could materially worsen the owner's position.
Liquidation stopped further trading losses and provided an orderly process for employees, suppliers, tax obligations and remaining assets.
The appointment prevented the owner from continuing to fund an unsustainable position and allowed the remaining personal exposure to be addressed.
The owner moved into paid employment, regained certainty of income and experienced substantial relief from the ongoing financial and operational stress. She is now considering a new venture from a more stable position.

This case study is anonymised and identifying details have been omitted or changed. It illustrates an approach, not a guaranteed outcome.

Bankruptcy & personal insolvency

When it may be relevant

Where personal liabilities, guarantees or business failure require assessment by a registered bankruptcy trustee.

What an early discussion clarifies

Assets, income, creditors, guarantees, antecedent transactions and how personal and corporate issues connect.

Practical example

A well-kept family home in a leafy Brisbane suburb at early morning.

Case note

A Part X proposal preserved the family home

Following the failure of an anonymised company, its director faced approximately $400,000 of personal liabilities arising from supplier and business guarantees. He owned half of the family home, with his equitable interest assessed at approximately $150,000.

In bankruptcy, the interest in the home would have been available to the trustee. A sale process, realisation costs and the costs of administering the bankruptcy would have reduced the net amount available to creditors and placed the family home at risk.
A Part X personal insolvency agreement proposed a total contribution of $150,000 over 12 months: $100,000 paid upfront with family assistance, followed by $50,000 from the director's income.
The income component equated to approximately $4,167 per month for 12 months. The total offer represented 37.5 cents for each dollar of the $400,000 creditor pool before administration costs.
The controlling trustee's comparison showed that the proposal was expected to produce a greater return than bankruptcy after allowing for the costs of selling the property and administering the bankruptcy.
Creditors accepted the proposal. Completion of the agreed contributions preserved the family home while delivering creditors the stronger assessed outcome.

This case study is anonymised and identifying details have been omitted or changed. It illustrates an approach, not a guaranteed outcome.

Independent appointments

When it may be relevant

Where creditors or stakeholders require an experienced independent practitioner to preserve value, investigate or oversee an agreed process.

What an early discussion clarifies

Authority, objective, information access, control, funding, reporting and the duties attached to the proposed role.

Practical example

An elevated view of a portfolio of modern industrial warehouses and logistics properties.

Case note

Replacement trustee over a $60 million industrial portfolio

Nik was appointed replacement trustee of an anonymised unit trust following a dispute among three sophisticated unitholders. The trust controlled an industrial property portfolio valued at approximately $60 million, and the parties had made competing allegations of misconduct.

The role required the portfolio to be managed and its income preserved while the underlying dispute remained active.
A coordinated sale process was developed for the industrial properties, with agents, tenants, advisers and unitholders managed through one independent channel.
Forensic analysis tested the competing allegations and established an evidence base for commercial discussions.
Negotiations among the three unitholders were facilitated alongside the property sales rather than allowing the dispute to fragment the process.
The combined management, investigation, sale and settlement strategy produced a stronger overall return to the unitholders than a disorderly, dispute-led process was expected to achieve.

This case study is anonymised and identifying details have been omitted or changed. It illustrates an approach, not a guaranteed outcome.

The first conversation

You do not need a complete file to ask the first useful question.

A broad outline is enough: the entity or person involved, the immediate issue, who is advising, and any deadline or enforcement action. Do not send confidential records or sensitive documents until the appropriate engagement and secure channel are confirmed.

What has changed?
What must happen next?
Who is affected?
Which deadline is real?

Start the conversation

Start with the position, not the process.

Do not send sensitive documents through the initial enquiry. A brief outline and any immediate deadline are enough.

Discuss a matter