Formal appointments conducted with discretion and a bias toward whatever outcome leaves creditors and the business best placed. Below are the paths available to a company in difficulty. If you are unsure where you sit, a phone call is the fastest way to find out.
Voluntary Administration is designed to resolve a company's future direction quickly, maximising the chances of a company continuing by giving it the opportunity to propose a formal offer to creditors.
A Deed of Company Arrangement (DOCA) is a binding arrangement between a company and creditors governing how the company's affairs will be dealt with. It aims to maximise the chances of continuation, or a better return for creditors than liquidation.
A company goes into receivership when an independent and suitably qualified person (the Receiver) is appointed by a secured creditor, or in special circumstances by the court, to take control of some or all of the company's assets.
Liquidation is the orderly winding up of a company's affairs. It involves realising the company's assets, cessation or sale of its operations, distributing realisation proceeds among creditors and distributing any surplus among shareholders.
Members' Voluntary Liquidation is a procedure that involves the orderly winding-up of a solvent company. A liquidator is appointed to manage the process of realising the company's assets, ceasing or sale of operations, payment of debts (if any) and distribution of surplus assets (if any) among shareholders.
When the ATO issues a Director Penalty Notice, a director may become personally liable for outstanding employee PAYG withholding and superannuation. Whether the penalty can be resolved at company level, or becomes an irrecoverable personal debt, depends on the type of DPN received and how quickly you act. The 21-day window is critical.
If you are a director and your company is under financial pressure, your duties change, and acting early is the single biggest factor in whether the company can be saved. Read our plain-English guide to a director's duties when insolvency looms.
Tell us roughly where things stand. We will listen first, set out the options in plain English, and only act if you ask us to.
