Insights
Insolvency, in plain English.
Practical guidance on debt, directors’ liability, the ATO and staying in control — from 36 years and 1,000+ cases. No jargon, no judgement.
Who Actually Winds Up Australian Companies? What 472 Court Applications in One Month Show
Who Actually Winds Up Australian Companies? What 472 Court Applications in One Month Show In July 2026 there were 472 court applications to wind up Australian companies, and the…
The Creditor Directors Never See Coming: Workers Comp Wound Up More NSW Companies Than the ATO
The Creditor Directors Never See Coming: Workers Comp Wound Up More NSW Companies Than the ATO In July 2026, the NSW Workers Compensation Nominal Insurer brought 65 court…
Which Creditor Will Move First Depends on Your State: Winding-Up Applications by State, July 2026
Which Creditor Will Move First Depends on Your State: Winding-Up Applications by State, July 2026 Winding-up risk is not the same problem in every State. In July 2026, 90.9% of…
Served Without Knowing It: Why Your Registered Office Decides Whether You See the Demand
Served Without Knowing It: Why Your Registered Office Decides Whether You See the Demand A statutory demand or a winding-up application is validly served on your company when it…
Company Liquidation Explained: What Actually Happens When a Company Is Wound Up
Company Liquidation Explained: What Actually Happens When a Company Is Wound Up Liquidation is the formal process of winding up a company. A registered liquidator takes control,…
Garnishee Notices Explained: How the ATO Takes Your Money Without Going to Court
Garnishee Notices Explained: How the ATO Takes Your Money Without Going to Court A garnishee is an instruction to someone who holds your money — your bank, your customers, your…
Deed of Company Arrangement (DOCA) Explained: The Deal That Decides Whether Your Company Survives
Deed of Company Arrangement (DOCA) Explained: The Deal That Decides Whether Your Company Survives A deed of company arrangement (DOCA) is a binding agreement between a company and…
Safe Harbour Explained: How Directors Get Legal Protection to Trade Through Financial Trouble
Safe Harbour Explained: How Directors Get Legal Protection to Trade Through Financial Trouble Safe harbour is a legal defence, not a program you apply for. Under section 588GA of…
Confident Decisions Under Financial Pressure
Pressure does something specific to good decision-making. It doesn't make you stupid. It makes you fast, and fast is the enemy of good when money's involved. I've sat across the…
What Is Small Business Restructuring (SBR) and How Does It Work?
What Is Small Business Restructuring (SBR) and How Does It Work? Small Business Restructuring (SBR) lets an eligible company with total liabilities under $1 million reduce and…
Director Penalty Notice: What to Do in the 21 Days After You Get One
Director Penalty Notice: What to Do in the 21 Days After You Get One If you've received a Director Penalty Notice (DPN), you have 21 days from the date on the notice to act - not…
If You Don't Pay the ATO: What Happens, and in What Order
If You Don't Pay the ATO: What Happens, and in What Order If there's an ATO debt sitting on your desk and you've been telling yourself there's plenty of time, read this first. The…
Being a Company Director in 2026: Your Duties and Where They Turn Personal
Being a Company Director in 2026: Your Duties and Where They Turn Personal Most directors never read the rulebook. They start a company to run a business, not to memorise the…
Income Contributions in Bankruptcy: How Much of Your Income You Keep
Income Contributions in Bankruptcy: How Much of Your Income You Keep The single biggest fear I hear about bankruptcy is money: "If I go bankrupt, do they take my wage?" People…
Understanding Corporate Insolvency: A Director's Plain-English Guide
Understanding Corporate Insolvency: A Director's Plain-English Guide Corporate insolvency sounds intimidating, but the meaning is simple: a company can no longer pay its debts…
Trading While Insolvent: The Line Every Director Needs to Know
Trading While Insolvent: The Line Every Director Needs to Know There's one line in a director's duties that catches more people out than any other, and most cross it without…
Part X vs Bankruptcy: When a Deal Beats the Blunt Process
Part X vs Bankruptcy: When a Deal Beats the Blunt Process When personal debt gets to the point that something formal has to give, most people assume bankruptcy is the only door.…
The Real Enemy Isn't Bankruptcy — It's Waiting
The Real Enemy Isn't Bankruptcy — It's Waiting After 38 years at this, I'll tell you the biggest thing I've learned: the bankruptcy itself is rarely the problem. Procrastination…
The 9 Questions I'm Asked Most About Bankruptcy
The 9 Questions I'm Asked Most About Bankruptcy I've been at this 38 years, and I went through my own business collapse in 1988 — so I've had to ask some of these questions…
What Small Business Restructuring Actually Is (And Who Qualifies)
What Small Business Restructuring Actually Is (And Who Qualifies) Plenty of business owners hear "restructuring" and think it means they've failed. It doesn't. In practice it's…
Phoenixing Explained: Buying Your Business Back From the Liquidator — The Legal Way
Phoenixing Explained: Buying Your Business Back From the Liquidator — The Legal Way One question comes up more than almost any other: is buying your business back from the…
SBR vs Liquidation: Which Path Through Serious ATO Debt?
SBR vs Liquidation: Which Path Through Serious ATO Debt? When ATO debt gets past the point where ordinary trading can pay it down, two formal paths usually come into focus: Small…
Advisor, Accountant or Lawyer: Who Does What When You're in Trouble
Advisor, Accountant or Lawyer: Who Does What When You're in Trouble When a business starts sliding, most directors don't have a "who do I ring" problem — they have a "who do I…
Can You Settle a Tax Debt for Less? ATO Compromise Proposals Explained
Can You Settle a Tax Debt for Less? ATO Compromise Proposals Explained When someone's drowning in ATO debt, they usually think there are only two doors: pay it in full — which is…
The 10 Biggest Myths About Bankruptcy
The 10 Biggest Myths About Bankruptcy Back when my own business was collapsing, I kept it from everyone. Friends, family — I assumed they'd see me differently. I'd been to a…
Director Penalty Notices Explained: What They Are and the 21-Day Clock
Director Penalty Notices Explained: What They Are and the 21-Day Clock If a letter from the ATO is sitting on your desk with the words "Director Penalty Notice" on it, read this…
Why Using an Insolvency Advisor Is a Sign of Strength, Not Failure
Why Using an Insolvency Advisor Is a Sign of Strength, Not Failure When money's tight and the letters keep coming, it's easy to believe that asking for help is the moment you…
ATO Payment Plans: Why the "Safe Option" Can Backfire
ATO Payment Plans: Why the "Safe Option" Can Backfire Most business owners assume that setting up a repayment plan with the ATO is the safe, sensible way to manage a tax debt.…
Lockdown vs Non-Lockdown DPNs: The One Thing That Decides Your Personal Liability
Lockdown vs Non-Lockdown DPNs: The One Thing That Decides Your Personal Liability A non-lockdown DPN is issued when your company's BAS or IAS was lodged within three months of the…
Don't Fear Bankruptcy: What You Actually Keep
Don't Fear Bankruptcy: What You Actually Keep The fear most people carry into a bankruptcy conversation is simple: "I'll lose everything." It's the single most common thing I…
Unpaid Super: The Director Debt That Turns Personal
Unpaid Super: The Director Debt That Turns Personal Unpaid super is one of the most dangerous debts a director can carry, and it's dangerous precisely because it doesn't look…
Why Winding Up Your Business Could Save You
Source: resolvency.com.au/post/why-winding-up-could-save-your-business · 5 May 2026 Why Winding Up or Liquidating Your Business Could Be the Thing That Saves You By Doug…
Small Business Owners — Are They Treated as Fairly as the Unemployed?
Source: resolvency.com.au/post/small-business-owners-treated-fairly · 5 May 2026 Small Business Owners — Are They Treated as Fairly as the Unemployed? By Doug Constable…
Unpaid super and director liability: what every company director needs to know
Source: resolvency.com.au/post/unpaid-super-and-director-bankruptcy-what-you-need-to-know · 7 Apr 2026 Unpaid Super, Director Penalty Notices and Bankruptcy: What Directors…
DIRECTOR PENALTY NOTICES (DPNs) 2026 ACCOUNTANT GUIDE
Source: resolvency.com.au/post/director-penalty-notices-dpns-2026-accountant-guide · 24 Mar 2026 Prepared by Resolvency – Trusted Insolvency Advisory Download our DPN…
ATO Compromise Proposal
Source: resolvency.com.au/post/ato-compromise-proposal-guide · 3 Dec 2025 When ATO Debt Is Crushing You, There IS Another Option When someone is drowning in ATO debt, they…
Can a Sole Trader Do SBR? Eligibility and Alternatives
Source: resolvency.com.au/post/can-a-sole-trader-do-sbr-eligibility · 3 Dec 2025 Can a Sole Trader Do a Small Business Restructuring (SBR)? Short answer: No. A sole trader…
Release of Debt Owed to the ATO
Source: resolvency.com.au/post/ato-release-of-debt-guide · 1 Dec 2025 Release of Debt Owed to the ATO — What You Need to Know (From an Advisor Who’s Seen It All) When tax…
Top 5 Warning Signs Your Business Is Heading Toward Insolvency
Running a business is tough at the best of times — but knowing when you're heading toward a cliff edge can be the difference between recovery and collapse. Based on decades of…