Bankruptcy Legislation Amendment Bill 2009 - Exposure Draft

The Australian Government has approved the release of an exposure draft of the Bankruptcy Legislation Amendment Bill 2009 in order to facilitate further public consultation on proposed reforms to the bankruptcy regime. More specifically the objects of this Bill are:

to provide a more streamlined process for fixing trustee remuneration and a more transparent process for reviewing that remuneration;
strengthen the penalties for some offences and ensure these are in line with the penalties for other similar offences;
to remove the outdated concept of Bankruptcy Districts in order to provide more flexibility in personal insolvency administration;
to increase the minimum debt for a creditor’s petition to reflect changes in the economic environment;
to increase the stay period that follows a declaration of intent to file a debtor’s petition to allow debtors to better assess their options; and
to increase the debt, income and asset tests thresholds for debt agreements to ensure the thresholds keep pace with increasing wages and the increasing availability of credit.

The exposure draft is intended to provide a basis to seek further feedback from stakeholders and the public on the proposed reforms. Please send written comments by 14 September 2009 to the Attorney-General’s Department at bankruptcy@ag.gov.au, or by mail to:

Bankruptcy Policy Branch
Civil Law Division
Attorney-General's Department
Central Office
3-5 National Circuit
BARTON ACT 2600