Insolvency can be extremely distressing for those involved, and generally introduces a significant number of complex legal processes that can be hard to navigate. Whether you’re a director entering voluntary administration or an individual facing bankruptcy, our commercial litigation lawyers in Sydney offer expert support.
Avicenna’s goal is to address matters early, offer practical solutions, and set individuals and companies up with the legal knowledge to make informed decisions about their future. As experienced civil litigation lawyers in Sydney, our team is well placed to guide you through disputes arising from insolvency at every stage.
Providing strategic representation across a broad range of commercial and civil disputes.
Working towards practical outcomes through negotiation, mediation, or litigation where required.
Helping you understand your legal position before making important decisions.
Discuss your dispute privately with an experienced Insolvency lawyers in Sydney.
Financial distress can affect businesses and individuals alike, and often requires urgent, informed decisions to protect assets, manage risk, and comply with legal obligations. Our insolvency practitioners in Sydney work closely with directors, creditors, and practitioners to navigate these situations with clarity and commercial pragmatism. Avicenna focuses on achieving practical outcomes, ensuring our clients meet their legal responsibilities at every stage.
Whether advising on restructuring options, defending insolvent trading claims, or acting in recovery proceedings, our Sydney insolvency practitioners can help.
Our corporate lawyers in Sydney provide guidance to companies facing financial difficulty, helping directors understand their options and navigate the administration process while working towards the best possible outcome for the business and its creditors.
Advice and representation through the voluntary winding up process, whether initiated by shareholders or creditors, ensuring an orderly wind-down that meets all legal and regulatory obligations.
Support for companies facing compulsory winding up applications, including representation in court proceedings and advice on the options available before a winding up order is made.
Advice for secured creditors, directors, and businesses navigating receivership, including the appointment of receivers and management of the associated rights and obligations.
Assistance negotiating and implementing DOCAs, offering companies an alternative to liquidation while working towards outcomes that benefit both the business and its creditors.
Practical advice for eligible small businesses seeking to restructure their debts, helping directors retain control of the company while working towards a realistic path forward.
Clear advice for directors on their legal duties and potential liabilities, including debt recovery. We help them understand their obligations and make informed decisions during periods of financial difficulty.
Guidance on the safe harbour provisions, helping directors understand how to protect themselves from personal liability while pursuing a genuine restructuring plan.
We act for creditors issuing statutory demands to recover company debts, and for debtor companies seeking to dispute a demand or apply to have it set aside. Our team prepares and reviews statutory demands, advises on the strict time limits involved, and represents clients in Section 459G applications to the Court.
Confidential advice for individuals facing bankruptcy, helping you understand the process, your obligations, and the options available before, during, and after proceedings.
Assistance negotiating personal insolvency agreements as an alternative, helping individuals reach a workable settlement with creditors while avoiding the consequences of formal bankruptcy.
Advice for individuals and directors who have provided personal guarantees, helping you understand your exposure and the options available if a guarantee is called upon.
Avicenna’s employment lawyers in Sydney offer advice for employees affected by their employer’s liquidation. We help you understand your entitlements, how to claim unpaid wages, leave, and redundancy pay, and your options under the Fair Entitlements Guarantee scheme.
Free initial phone consultation for insolvency matters in Sydney · confidential · no obligation. We cannot guarantee outcomes, but we will always be honest about your options.
Call us or submit an enquiry. During your confidential consultation, we'll take the time to understand your financial position, answer your questions, and explain the insolvency options available to you.
We'll carefully review your financial circumstances, explain your legal position in plain language, and recommend a practical strategy. Whether that looks like restructuring, voluntary administration, liquidation, or another path suited to your goals.
Regardless of how your matter is resolved, we'll represent your interests with professionalism and keep you informed throughout the process. Our support is end-to-end, covering every stage of your insolvency matter from start to finish.
Work directly with a team of experienced lawyers who understand the full lifecycle of insolvency matters.
We build lasting relationships by providing tailored advice and responsive communication.
Know your costs upfront with zero hidden surprises. Our pricing is completely transparent so you know what to expect.
We explain your options in plain language, no legal jargon, so you’re able to make informed decisions with confidence.
Learn more about the legal process and what to expect when working with our team.
A Deed of Company Arrangement (DOCA) is a formal, legally binding agreement between a financially distressed company and its creditors that governs how the company’s affairs and debts will be handled after entering voluntary administration. The arrangement is propagated by an administrator and a company’s creditors to maximise the chances for the business to keep operating.
Insolvency is a broad term for the financial state of a company or individual. It refers to a business or person that is facing financial distress and is not able to pay their debts when they are due. Bankruptcy is a specific legal process that occurs in some cases where an individual cannot pay their debts. A company can’t go ‘bankrupt’, instead they go into administration or liquidation.
Insolvency refers to a company or individual who can’t pay their debts as and when they fall due. It doesn’t necessarily mean a party has no financial assets, rather a lack of ‘cash flow’. Individuals or companies can be asset-rich but still insolvent if debts aren’t met as they are due.
Voluntary administration is a temporary process that aims to rescue a financially distressed company via a Deed of Company Agreement (DOCA). If a company cannot be saved, voluntary administration ‘winds up’ the company and offers the best opportunity for its creditors.
Liquidation is when a company is wound up and ceases to exist. It can still be voluntarily entered into, but there are no arrangements or agreements to rescue the company.
Employment usually ends. Unpaid entitlements (wages, leave, redundancy) are priority debts in the statutory cascade after secured creditors and liquidator fees. The government’s Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) scheme can also cover some unpaid entitlements if the company can’t.
A receiver is usually appointed by a secured creditor (like a bank) to recover money owed to them specifically. This is often achieved by selling secured assets. The duty of a receiver is primarily to that creditor, not all creditors generally, unlike a liquidator or administrator.
For eligible companies (liabilities under $1 million, excluding employee entitlements), SBR is preferred because it’s faster, cheaper and less disruptive to the company. Directors keep control of the company during SBR, whereas in VA the administrator takes full control. Usually, SBR implements a development plan faster and has shorter statutory time limits. It also involves fewer meetings and reduces the number of possible outcomes.
VA is still the better (or only) option if the company doesn’t meet SBR’s eligibility criteria, if there are concerns about director conduct that warrant independent oversight, or if the situation needs more flexible, tailored outcomes than SBR’s standardised plan allows.
Safe harbour is a legal protection under the Corporations Act (section 588GA) that shields company directors from personal liability for insolvent trading. This is provided they’re actively developing and implementing a course of action reasonably likely to lead to a better outcome for the company than immediate administration or liquidation.
It was introduced in 2017 to encourage directors to seek help and try to rescue a struggling business, rather than being forced into early administration or liquidation purely out of fear of personal liability. However, strict conditions apply which Avicenna can help you understand.
We’ll listen to your situation, explain your options clearly, and work with you towards the best possible outcome.
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