Bankruptcy Act 1966
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 1 — Short title
This Act may be cited as the Bankruptcy Act 1966.
Section 2 — Commencement
This Act shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by Proclamation.
Section 4 — Repeal
(1) The Acts specified in Schedule 1 are repealed. (2) Notwithstanding the repeal of the Bankruptcy Act 1958 or the Bankruptcy Act 1959 effected by subsection (1) of this section: (a) the provisions…
Section 4A — Insolvency Practice Schedule
Schedule 2 has effect.
Section 5 — Interpretation
(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears: ADI (authorised deposit-taking institution) means: (a) a body corporate that is an ADI for the purposes of the Banking Act 1959; or (b) the…
Section 5A — Acting in accordance with a person’s directions or instructions
For the purposes of this Act, a person shall not be regarded as a person in accordance with whose directions or instructions the directors of a body corporate are accustomed to act merely because the…
Section 5B — Associated entities: companies
(1) For the purposes of this Act, a company is associated with a person if the person: (a) is a company officer of the company or otherwise is concerned, or takes part, in the company’s management;…
Section 5C — Associated entities: natural persons
(1) For the purposes of this Act, a natural person (in this section called the associate) is associated with another person if the other person: (a) holds property jointly with the associate; or (b)…
Section 5D — Associated entities: partnerships
For the purposes of this Act, a partnership is associated with a person if, and only if, the person: (a) is a partner in the partnership; (b) is able to control, or to influence materially, the…
Section 5E — Associated entities: trusts
For the purposes of this Act, a trust is associated with a person if, and only if, the person: (a) is the settlor, or one of the settlors, of the trust; (b) has power under the terms of the trust to…
Section 5F — Controlling an entity in relation to a matter
(1) Subject to this section, a person shall be taken, for the purposes of this Act, to control an entity at a particular time in relation to a matter if, and only if: (a) no act, omission or decision…
Section 5G — Financial affairs of a company
For the purposes of this Act, a company’s financial affairs include: (a) the company’s promotion, formation, membership, control, operations and state of affairs; (b) the management and proceedings…
Section 5H — Financial affairs of a natural person
For the purposes of this Act, the financial affairs of a natural person include: (a) the person’s operations and state of affairs; (b) any act or thing done (including any contract made and any…
Section 5J — Financial affairs of a partnership
For the purposes of this Act, the financial affairs of a partnership include: (a) the partnership’s promotion, formation, membership, control, operations and state of affairs; (b) the management and…
Section 5K — Financial affairs of a trust
For the purposes of this Act, the financial affairs of a trust include: (a) the creation of the trust; (b) matters arising under, or otherwise relating to, the terms of the trust; (c) the appointment…
Section 6 — Meaning of intent to defraud creditors
A reference in this Act to an intent to defraud the creditors of a person or to defeat or delay the creditors of a person shall be read as including an intent to defraud, or to defeat or delay, any…
Section 6A — Statement of affairs for purposes other than Part XI
(1) This section has effect for the purposes of the following provisions of this Act, namely, subsections 54(1) and (2) and subsection 54A(2), paragraphs 55(2)(b), 56B(3)(a) and (b), 56F(1)(a) and…
Section 6B — Provision of statement of affairs under Part XI and statement of administration of estate of deceased person
(2) A reference in paragraph 246(1)(a) or subsection 247(1) to a statement of a deceased person’s affairs and of administration of the deceased person’s estate is a reference to a statement, in an…
Section 6C — Interpretive provisions relating to proceeds of crime orders
When property is covered by a restraining order or a forfeiture order (1) For the purposes of this Act, property is covered by a restraining order or a forfeiture order during the period: (a)…
Section 6D — Approved forms
(1) A document that this Act requires to be in an approved form must: (a) be in the form approved by the Inspector-General for the document; and (b) include the information, statements, explanations…
Section 7 — Application of Act
(1) This Act extends to debtors being persons who are not Australian citizens and persons who have privilege of Parliament. (1A) This Act applies to debtors whether or not they have attained the age…
Section 7A — Application of the Criminal Code
Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code applies to all offences against this Act. Note: Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code sets out the general principles of criminal responsibility.
Section 8 — Act binds the Crown
This Act binds the Crown in right of the Commonwealth, of each of the States, of the Australian Capital Territory and of the Northern Territory.
Section 9 — Laws of States and Territories not affected by Act
(1) This Act does not affect a law of a State or Territory relating to matters not dealt with expressly or by necessary implication in this Act.
Section 10 — Delegation by Minister or Secretary
(1) The Minister may, either generally or as otherwise provided in the instrument of delegation, by writing signed by him or her, delegate to an officer all or any of the Minister’s powers under this…
Section 11 — Inspector-General in Bankruptcy
(1) For the purposes of this Act, there shall be an Inspector-General in Bankruptcy. (2) The Inspector-General has: (a) the general administration of this Act; and (b) the other powers and other…
Section 12 — Functions of Inspector-General
(1) The Inspector-General: (a) shall make such inquiries and investigations as the Minister directs; and (b) may make such inquiries and investigations as the Inspector-General thinks fit with…
Section 13 — The Australian Financial Security Authority
For the purposes of the finance law (within the meaning of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013): (a) the following group of persons is a listed entity: (i) the…
Section 15 — Official Receivers
(1) There is to be such number of Official Receivers as the Minister thinks necessary. (3) Each Official Receiver has such powers and functions as are conferred or imposed on an Official Receiver by…
Section 16 — Appointment of Inspector-General and Official Receivers
The Inspector-General and each Official Receiver shall be appointed by the Minister.
Section 17 — Acting Inspector-General and Acting Official Receivers
(1) The Minister may appoint a person to act as Inspector-General: (a) during a vacancy in the office of Inspector-General; or (b) during any period, or during all periods, when the Inspector-General…
Section 17B — Arrangements for services of State Magistrates and certain Local Court Judges
(1) The Governor-General may arrange with the Governor of a State for the performance of the functions of a magistrate under this Act by all or any of the persons who from time to time hold office as…
Section 18 — The Official Trustee in Bankruptcy
Corporate status of Official Trustee (1) The corporation sole known as the Official Trustee in Bankruptcy, that existed immediately before this subsection commenced, continues in existence as a body…
Section 18A — Liability of the Official Trustee
(1) The Official Trustee is subject to the same personal liability in respect of an act done, or omitted to be done, by it as: (a) the trustee of the estate of a bankrupt; or (b) the trustee of the…
Section 18AA — Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 does not apply to the Official Trustee
Despite paragraph 10(1)(d) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, the Official Trustee is not a Commonwealth entity for the purposes of that Act.
Section 19 — Duties etc. of trustee
(1) The duties of the trustee of the estate of a bankrupt include the following: (a) notifying the bankrupt’s creditors of the bankruptcy; (b) determining whether the estate includes property that…
Section 19A — Liability of Inspector-General, Official Receivers etc.
(1) The Commonwealth shall indemnify a person to whom this section applies against any liability incurred by him or her: (a) for any act done negligently, or negligently omitted to be done, by him or…
Section 19AA — Power of investigation of bankrupt’s affairs
(1) The trustee of the estate of a bankrupt may investigate: (a) the bankrupt’s conduct and examinable affairs; and (b) books, accounts and records kept by the bankrupt; so far as they relate to the…
Section 19B — Trustee to give Official Receiver information etc.
(1) The trustee of the estate of a bankrupt must give the Official Receiver such information, access to and facilities for inspecting the bankrupt’s books and generally such assistance as is…
Section 20A — Interpretation
In this Division, unless the contrary intention appears: Common Fund means the Common Investment Fund established in pursuance of section 20B. Equalization Account means the Common Investment Fund…
Section 20B — The Common Investment Fund
(1) The Official Trustee shall open and maintain an account to be known as the Common Investment Fund. (2) All moneys (other than moneys to which subsection (8) applies) received by the Official…
Section 20D — Investment of money in Common Fund
(1) The moneys in the Common Fund not immediately required for the purposes of this Act may be invested by the Official Trustee: (a) in public securities; or (b) in a loan the repayment of which is…
Section 20E — Borrowing for the Common Fund
(1) Where the Official Trustee is of the opinion: (a) that moneys in the Common Fund deposited in accounts at call with an ADI or ADIs are likely to be insufficient to meet payments that under this…
Section 20F — Moneys in Common Fund not held on account of particular estates etc.
(1) No moneys in the Common Fund shall be held, or be deemed for any purpose to be held, on account of any particular estate or fund. (2) Investments made from moneys in the Common Fund shall not be…
Section 20G — Common Investment Fund Equalization Account
(1) There is continued in existence the Common Investment Fund Equalization Account. Note: The Account was established by subsection 5(3) of the Financial Management Legislation Amendment Act 1999.…
Section 20H — Credits to and debits from the Equalization Account
(1) Interest derived from the investment of money in the Common Fund must be paid to the Commonwealth. (2) An amount equal to the amount of any capital profit made upon the realization of an…
Section 20J — Interest on moneys in Common Fund payable only in certain circumstances
(1) Where the Official Trustee is: (a) the trustee of the estate of a bankrupt or of a deceased debtor; or (b) the trustee of a fund of moneys held or received by the Official Trustee in respect of a…
Section 27 — Bankruptcy courts
(1) The Federal Court and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) have concurrent jurisdiction in bankruptcy, and that jurisdiction is exclusive of the jurisdiction of all…
Section 29 — Courts to help each other
(1) All Courts having jurisdiction under this Act, the Judges of those Courts and the officers of or under the control of those Courts shall severally act in aid of and be auxiliary to each other in…
Section 30 — General powers of Courts in bankruptcy
(1) The Court: (a) has full power to decide all questions, whether of law or of fact, in any case of bankruptcy or any matter under Part IX, X or XI coming within the cognizance of the Court; and (b)…