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Insolvency Practitioners

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The rules regulating the independence of insolvency practitioners serve an important purpose in the profession; to secure public confidence in the impartiality and effectiveness of the regulations and discipline of the insolvency system. The purpose of my report is to comment on the expectations imposed upon liquidators including whether the Walton Constructions Pty Limited (2014) FCAFC 85 (“the Walton case”), sets an unrealistic standard. The importance of the Walton case is for insolvency practitioners to recognise the legal principles that can be drawn from the decision. Although I am able to appreciate the ideals behind the results of the Walton case and the standard this sets, my findings indicate that the decision made by the high court …show more content…

The issues were illustrated in 2012 in the case of Haulotte Australia Pty Limited v All Areas Rentals Pty Limited whereby the liquidator was required to investigate actions undertaken by the referrer prior to liquidation, and accordingly was removed due to the inability to maintain the required appearance of independence. Further to this in the case of Lehane J observed in Wood v Targett that; “…discretion under section 503 will commonly be exercised in favour of removal of a liquidator when it appears the liquidator, through relationships and connections with the company, its management or particular persons concerned in its affairs, is in a position of actual or apparent conflict...”
The result of such cases is concerning to practitioners as relationships with referrers are seemingly commonplace, although they are often ‘understated’ in terms of importance when considering whether any conflicting interests exist. The precedents established through the abovementioned case law set standards high for …show more content…

There is a clear shift towards principles based regulation in the insolvency profession. The leading purposes of the Code is to provide broad principles that can be applied to a multitude of circumstances with the aim of averting practitioners from justifying a particular course of action via a loophole in the Act. The results of cases such as the Walton case serve as a reminder to practitioners that the Act merely provides a minimum benchmark as to the appropriate course of action and that practitioners should have regard to the requirements of the code when considering a new appointment. Interestingly, Honourable Justice Robertson made the following comment in the Walton case being that he does not regard the Insolvency Practitioners Association of Australia’s guide as extrinsic material appropriate or permitted to be taken into account in construing s 60 and 436DA of the Act. Although this is the case, the Code is still pertinent to practitioners. As stated by Miss Alicia Hill and Jessica Patrick “although the Code cannot be directly taken into account in construing legislation, it has a very important place in regulating insolvency

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