Bankruptcy Act 1966
Sections and provisions with full text and the judgments that cite each one.
Section 185LE — Administrator to keep accounts etc.
(1) An administrator of a debt agreement must: (a) keep such accounts, books and records as are necessary to give a full and correct account of the administration of the debt agreement; and (b) if…
Section 185F — Effect of accepting a debt agreement proposal for processing
(1) After acceptance of a debt agreement proposal for processing is recorded in the National Personal Insolvency Index: (a) a creditor cannot apply for enforcement of, or enforce, a remedy against…
Section 185LF — Succession of administrator
Scope (1) This section applies if: (a) a person (the earlier administrator) ceases to be the administrator of a debt agreement; and (b) another person (the later administrator) becomes the…
Section 185G — Lapsing of a debt agreement proposal
A debt agreement proposal lapses if: (b) the Official Receiver accepts the proposal for processing and writes to affected creditors about it, but no replies are received before the applicable…
Section 185LG — Duties of an administrator in relation to debt agreements—extended meaning
(1) For the purposes of this Act, a duty of an administrator under this Act is taken to be a duty of an administrator in relation to a debt agreement, even if the duty does not relate to a particular…
Section 185H — Making a debt agreement
(1) This section sets out the 2 situations in which a debt agreement is made. Unconditional debt agreement proposals (2) If: (a) a debt agreement proposal is accepted; and (b) the proposal is not…
Section 185I — Parties to a debt agreement
The parties to a debt agreement are: (a) the debtor; and (b) the creditors to whom the debtor owed provable debts.
Section 185K — Prevention of proceedings relating to debts
(1) While a debt agreement is in force and details of it are entered on the National Personal Insolvency Index, a creditor cannot: (a) present a creditor’s petition against the debtor; or (b) proceed…
Section 185M — Varying a debt agreement
Proposing to vary a debt agreement (1) A debtor or creditor who is a party to a debt agreement may give the Official Receiver a written proposal to vary the agreement. (1A) The proposal must be in…
Section 185N — End of debt agreement on discharge of obligations under agreement
Time of end of debt agreement (1) A debt agreement ends when all the obligations that it created have been discharged, unless the agreement has been terminated earlier under section 185P, 185Q, 185QA…
Section 185P — Terminating a debt agreement by accepting a proposal
Proposing to terminate a debt agreement (1) The debtor (or the debtor’s personal representative if the debtor has died) or a creditor who is bound by a debt agreement may give the Official Receiver a…
Section 185Q — Terminating a debt agreement by order of the Court
Applying for an order (1) Any of the following persons may apply to the Court for an order terminating a debt agreement: (a) the debtor (or the debtor’s personal representative if the debtor has…
Section 185R — Terminating a debt agreement by the bankruptcy of the debtor
A debt agreement is terminated if the debtor becomes a bankrupt. Note: Despite section 185K, there are a number of ways in which a debtor who is a party to a debt agreement could become bankrupt. For…
Section 185S — Validity of things done under a debt agreement that was terminated
If a debt agreement is terminated under section 185P, 185Q, 185QA or 185R, anything that was done in good faith under the agreement by a person before the person had notice of the termination: (a) is…
Section 185T — Applying for an order declaring a debt agreement void
Persons who may apply for an order (1) The debtor (or the debtor’s personal representative if the debtor has died), a creditor or the Official Receiver may apply to the Court for an order declaring…
Section 185U — Making an order declaring a debt agreement void
Power to make order (1) On an application under section 185T, the Court may make an order declaring a debt agreement void. Limit on declaring debt agreement void on grounds of non-compliance with…
Section 185V — Validity of things done under a debt agreement that was declared void
If a debt agreement is declared void, anything that was done in good faith under the agreement by a person before the person had notice of the declaration: (a) is valid; and (b) cannot be voided by a…
Section 185W — Court directions to the Official Receiver
(1) Any of the following persons may apply to the Court for an order directing the Official Receiver or another person how to exercise the Official Receiver’s powers under this Part: (a) a debtor who…
Section 185X — No stamp duty payable on a debt agreement
Stamp duty under a State or Territory law is not payable on a debt agreement or a variation of a debt agreement.
Section 185Y — Money received by administrator to be held on trust
If the administrator of a debt agreement receives money from the debtor under the agreement, the money is taken to have been received by the administrator on trust to be dealt with in the way…
Section 185Z — Remuneration of administrator
(1) The administrator of a debt agreement may be remunerated as provided in the agreement (see subsections 185C(3) and (3A)). (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to the Official Trustee. Note: For the…
Section 186A — Basic eligibility test
Individuals (1) For the purposes of this Division, an individual passes the basic eligibility test at a particular time (the test time) unless: (a) at any time during the 10-year period ending at the…
Section 186HA — Registered debt agreement administrator to maintain insurance
(1) A person who is a registered debt agreement administrator must maintain: (a) adequate and appropriate professional indemnity insurance; and (b) adequate and appropriate fidelity insurance;…
Section 186LA — Inspector-General may obtain information about debt agreement administration trust accounts
Scope (1) This section applies to a bank if: (a) the Inspector-General believes on reasonable grounds that: (i) a person who is or was an administrator of a debt agreement holds or held an account…
Section 186B — Application for registration as a debt agreement administrator
(1) An individual or company may apply to the Inspector-General to be registered as a debt agreement administrator. (2) The application must: (a) be in the approved form; and (b) be accompanied by…
Section 186LB — Account-freezing notices—debt agreement administration trust accounts
Scope (1) This section applies to a bank if: (a) the Inspector-General believes on reasonable grounds that: (i) a person who is or was an administrator of a debt agreement holds or held an account…
Section 186C — Inspector-General must approve or refuse to approve registration application
(1A) For the purposes of considering an application made under section 186B, the Inspector-General must interview the applicant as soon as practicable after receiving the application. (1) Within 45…
Section 186LC — Power of court to set aside account-freezing notices
(1) If the Court, on application by: (a) a bank to whom an account-freezing notice has been given; or (b) the account-holder whose account is affected by an account-freezing notice; or (c) any other…
Section 186D — Registration as a debt agreement administrator
(1) This section applies if: (a) the Inspector-General approves an application under section 186C; and (b) the applicant has paid the fee determined by the Minister by legislative instrument. (2) The…
Section 186LD — Judicial enforcement of account-freezing notices
(1) If the Court is satisfied that a bank has breached, or is proposing to breach, an account-freezing notice, the Court may, on application of the Inspector-General, make any or all of the following…
Section 186E — Duration of registration as a debt agreement administrator
Subject to this Division and section 185ZCA, if a person is registered under section 186D as a debt agreement administrator, the registration remains in force for: (a) if the registration is not by…
Section 186LE — Protection of bank
No criminal or civil proceedings lie against a bank because of anything done (or not done) by the bank in good faith: (a) in compliance with an account-freezing notice; or (b) in connection with, or…
Section 186F — Conditions of registration—general
(1) This section applies to a person if the person is a registered debt agreement administrator. (2) The Inspector-General may, by written notice given to the person, impose specified conditions on…
Section 186G — Condition of registration—companies
(1) This section applies to a company if the company is a registered debt agreement administrator. (2) It is a condition of the company’s registration as a debt agreement administrator that each…
Section 186H — Application to change or remove registration conditions
(1) If there are conditions on a person’s registration as a debt agreement administrator, the person may apply to the Inspector-General for the conditions to be changed or removed. (1A) Subsection…
Section 186J — Surrender of registration as a debt agreement administrator
(1) This section applies to a person if the person is a registered debt agreement administrator. (2) The person may, by written notice given to the Inspector-General, request the Inspector-General to…
Section 186K — Cancellation of an individual’s registration as a debt agreement administrator
Scope (1) This section applies in relation to an individual if the individual is a registered debt agreement administrator. Individual no longer passes the basic eligibility test (2) The…
Section 186L — Cancellation of a company’s registration as a debt agreement administrator
Scope (1) This section applies in relation to a company if the company is a registered debt agreement administrator. Company no longer passes the basic eligibility test (2) The Inspector-General must…
Section 186N — Return of certificate of registration
Surrender of registration as a debt agreement administrator (1) A person commits an offence if: (a) the person has been given a certificate of registration under subsection 186D(3); and (b) the…
Section 186P — Cessation of registration as a debt agreement administrator—no refund of fees
(1) This section applies if a person ceases to be registered as a debt agreement administrator. (2) The person is not entitled to a refund of all or part of a fee paid by the person in relation to…
Section 186Q — Guidelines relating to Inspector-General’s powers
The Inspector-General may, by legislative instrument, formulate guidelines for the purposes of the following provisions: (a) subsection 186C(6); (b) subsection 186K(7); (c) subsection 186L(7). Note:…
Section 187 — Interpretation
(1) In this Part, unless the contrary intention appears: controlling trustee, in relation to a debtor whose property is subject to control under Division 2, means the person who is the controlling…
Section 187A — Application of Part to joint debtors
This Part applies, with the prescribed modifications (if any), in relation to joint debtors, whether partners or not.
Section 188 — Debtor may authorise trustee or solicitor to be controlling trustee
(1) A debtor who desires that his or her affairs be dealt with under this Part without his or her estate being sequestrated and: (a) is personally present or ordinarily resident in Australia; (b) has…
Section 188A — Personal insolvency agreement
Requirements for a personal insolvency agreement (1) A personal insolvency agreement is a deed that: (a) is expressed to be entered into under this Part; and (b) complies with subsection (2). (2) A…
Section 188B — Inspection of statement of debtor’s affairs
(1) This section applies to the following documents relating to a debtor: (a) a copy of a statement of the debtor’s affairs given to an Official Receiver under subsection 188(5); (b) a statement of…
Section 189 — Control of property of a debtor who has given authority under section 188
(1) When an authority given by a debtor under section 188 becomes effective, the property of the debtor becomes subject to control under this Division. (1A) The control continues until one of the…
Section 189A — Report and declaration by controlling trustee
(1) The controlling trustee must prepare a report: (a) summarising and commenting on the information about the debtor’s affairs that is available to the controlling trustee; and (b) stating whether…
Section 189AA — Court orders with effect during period of control of debtor’s property
(1) The Court may make an order that has effect while the property of the debtor is subject to control: (a) discharging an order made at any time against the person or property of the debtor under a…
Section 189AAA — Stay of proceedings relating to creditor’s petition until meeting of debtor’s creditors
(1) If: (a) an authority signed by a debtor under section 188 has become effective; and (b) either: (i) a creditor’s petition was presented against the debtor before the authority became effective;…