The Government has introduced the Treasury Laws Amendment (Combating Illegal Phoenixing) Bill 2019 into Parliament. Background.

The Bill introduces new phoenixing offences into the Corporations Act to prohibit creditor-defeating dispositions of company property, penalise those who engage in or facilitate such dispositions, and allow liquidators and ASIC to recover such property.

A creditor-defeating disposition is a disposition of company property for less than its market value (or the best price reasonably obtainable) that has the effect of preventing, hindering or significantly delaying the property becoming available to meet the demands of the company’s creditors in winding-up.

A transaction may be voidable if it is a creditor-defeating disposition and is made when the company is insolvent, or, because of the disposition, the company immediately becomes insolvent or enters external administration within the following 12 months.

In addition, directors will be held accountable for misconduct by preventing directors from improperly backdating resignations or ceasing to be a director when this would leave the company with no directors.