Restructuring and Insolvency Law
HOW WE CAN HELP PROTECT your business
KPA Lawyers acts across a full range of restructuring and insolvency matters, from safe harbour planning through to formal administrations, liquidations, receiverships and personal bankruptcies. We have experience in acting for directors and business owners under financial pressure, lenders and secured creditors managing exposure, insolvency practitioners running formal appointments, and creditors trying to recover what they are owed.
A significant part of our work is advising companies and individuals well before formal insolvency arrives. We work with clients to anticipate the risks, plan the response while options are still open, and move quickly when the situation requires it.
Restructures
Most successful restructures happen outside of formal insolvency: capital restructures, debt-for-equity swaps, turnaround financing, scheme-of-arrangement creditor compromises, or the Small Business Restructuring process under Part 5.3B of the Corporations Act 2001 for eligible companies with debts under $1m.
A business that addresses financial pressure early has materially better options than one that waits until it is often too late. We act for businesses, lenders and distressed-credit investors on workouts, safe harbour, SBR, pre-positioning before formal appointments, and acquisitions of assets out of insolvency.
What we do
- Informal workouts and turnarounds
- Safe harbour planning under section 588GA
- Schemes of arrangement (creditor compromises)
- Small Business Restructuring (SBR) process
- Debt-for-equity swaps and capital restructures
- Turnaround and rescue financing
- Distressed credit investment and asset acquisitions
- Pre-positioning advice before formal appointments
Insolvency Advice
A business is considered to be insolvent under section 95A of the Corporations Act 2001 when it can’t pay its debts as they fall due. At that point, director duties operate differently, prior transactions may become reviewable, and the wrong move can create personal liability. Getting early advice is the difference between having options and not.
We advise directors, shareholders, businesses, creditors and insolvency practitioners on the immediate decisions, the formal options (voluntary administration, liquidation, DOCA, SBR), and the technical questions inside an insolvency (voidable transactions, employee entitlements, set-off and retention of title under the PPSA.
What we do
- Voluntary administration appointments
- Liquidations, court-ordered and creditors’ voluntary
- Deeds of company arrangement (DOCAs)
- Small Business Restructuring (SBR)
- Director duty advice during insolvency
- Voidable transaction and unfair preference claims
- Employee entitlement priorities and FEG matters
- Set off and combination of accounts
- Retention of title (PMSI) claims
- Creditor and insolvency practitioner representation
Insolvency Litigation
We act for liquidators, administrators, and trustees pursuing these claims, and for directors, officers and counterparties defending them. The Supreme Court of Victoria and the Federal Court are the usual forums depending on the size and nature of the claim.
What we do
- Voidable transaction and unfair preference claims
- Insolvent trading claims and director-duty proceedings
- Disputed proofs of debt
- Security validity, priority and PPSA disputes
- Challenges to administrator, liquidator and receiver conduct
- Trustee in bankruptcy claims and recoveries
- Multi-party insolvency disputes
- Public examinations under section 596A and 596B
Pre-Insolvency Advice
Some of the most valuable pre-insolvency advice for directors comes before a business is technically insolvent. While there’s still time before a formal appointment, directors and owners have meaningful options: restructuring, refinancing, safe harbour under section 588GA of the Corporations Act 2001, contingency planning, or a controlled exit.
We act for directors and business owners that are under financial pressure but not yet at formal insolvency. The work focuses on identifying real options, run with a clear view of director duties and personal exposure throughout, including insolvent trading liability under section 588G.
What we do
- Director statutory obligation and duty advice
- Safe harbour planning under section 588GA
- Insolvent trading risk assessment and mitigation
- Pre-insolvency restructuring and refinancing strategy
- Contingency planning before pressure crystallises
- External administrator appointment guidance
- Support during voluntary administration
Liquidations and Administrations
We act on both sides of voluntary administrations and liquidations: for the directors deciding whether to place the company into administration or liquidation, and for the administrators and liquidators running the process.
Our team can advise at any stage: the initial decision to appoint, the running of the process, and the technical questions that follow. Those can include court direction applications, remuneration approvals, statutory duties on asset sales, proof of debt adjudication, convening-period extensions, DOCA negotiations, and disputes with creditors or other stakeholders.
What we do
- Director advice on the decision to appoint
- Voluntary administration appointments and conduct
- Liquidations, court-ordered and creditors’ voluntary
- Court direction applications
- Remuneration approval applications
- Convening period extension applications
- Statutory duty advice on asset sales and realisations
- Proof of debt adjudication and disputes
- Deed of company arrangement (DOCA) drafting
- Activist creditor and stakeholder management
Security Enforcement
We advise secured creditors on the enforcement of security interests, from the initial assessment of the security position through to the realisation of secured assets.
We also act on priority and enforcement disputes that arise with other secured creditors, external administrators or unsecured stakeholders during the recovery process.
What we do
- Enforcement strategy and planning
- Receivership and controllership appointments
- Statutory duty of sale advice
- Asset realisation and recovery
- Priority disputes between secured creditors
- Disputes with administrators and liquidators
- PPSA-based security enforcement
- Risk and exposure analysis before enforcement commences
PPSR (Personal Property Securities Register)
The Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) and the PPSR affect every business that supplies on retention of title, leases equipment, finances assets or holds security over business property. Get the registration wrong such as a wrong serial number, the wrong grantor ABN, or late lodgement past the 20-day PMSI window and your security can be treated as unsecured in an insolvency, losing its priority entirely.
We advise on PPSA compliance, PPSR registration and remediation, the underlying commercial agreements (retention of title, leasing, hire purchase, conditional sale), priority disputes between competing security interests, and PPSR enforcement when a customer enters administration or liquidation.
What we do
- PPSA compliance advice
- PPSR registration and registration remediation
- Retention of title, leasing and hire-purchase advice
- Priority disputes between competing security interests
- PPSR enforcement when a customer becomes insolvent
- Disputes arising on customer administration or liquidation
- Industry-specific PPSA risk advice
HOW WE CAN HELP INDIVIDUALS
A significant part of our work is advising companies and individuals well before formal insolvency arrives. We work with clients to anticipate the risks, plan the response while options are still open, and move quickly when the situation requires it.
We act for individuals on bankruptcy advice, creditor’s petition defence, debt agreements, and the broader insolvency litigation that touches directors and former directors after a company fails.
Insolvency Litigation
Insolvency litigation can impact individual directors, former directors and counterparties when a liquidator pursues an insolvent trading claim under section 588G of the Corporations Act 2001, a voidable transaction recovery, a public examination under section 596A or 596B, or a disputed proof of debt. These claims can be high-stakes and leave you personally liable.
We act for individuals defending insolvency-related claims and pursuing them where you’re a creditor owed money by a company that has entered administration or liquidation.
What we do
- Defence of insolvent trading claims
- Defence of voidable transaction and preference claims
- Defence of director-duty breach claims
- Public examinations under sections 596A and 596B
- Disputed proofs of debt as a creditor
- Trustee in bankruptcy claims against you
- Recovery proceedings as a creditor
- Personal-exposure advice after a company failure
Insolvency Advice
Personal insolvency operates differently from corporate insolvency, and their consequences can be different. Bankruptcy can affect directorships, professional licences, family law settlements and property ownership, and the consequences can last for years.
We advise individuals on bankruptcy, personal insolvency agreements and debt agreements, and defends creditor’s petitions where there are grounds to do so. We also act for trustees in bankruptcy on examinations, asset recovery and the enforcement work that comes with the appointment, and for creditors pursuing bankruptcy where that is the right course.
What we do
- Bankruptcy advice for debtors (Part X PIAs, Part IX debt agreements, voluntary bankruptcy)
- Defence of creditor’s petitions
- Section 77C and public examinations
- Section 139ZQ notices and asset recovery
- Recovery of under-value transfers and transfers to defeat creditors
- Trustee in bankruptcy enforcement support
- Bankruptcy issues in family law, business disputes and estate matters
Frequently Asked Questions
Disclaimer : The information contained in these FAQS is of a general nature only and does not constitute legal advice. It has been prepared by KPA Lawyers without considering your specific objectives, circumstances or needs, and should not be relied on as a substitute for tailored legal advice.
Why KPA Lawyers for Restructuring and Insolvency Law
The firm that puts your outcome first
We combine senior expertise with genuine care, your matter will be handled by an experienced lawyer every step of the way.
a trusted network of insolvency specialists
We work alongside an established network of liquidators and insolvency practitioners, giving you well-rounded guidance and the right expertise at each step of the process.
early advice that protects your position
Acting early is the difference between having options and running out of them.
Three conveniently located offices
Visit our Sandringham or Mornington offices or meet with us in the Melbourne CBD, whichever location is most convenient for you.
KPA handled our business sale with precision and care. They explained every step clearly and achieved a result we were truly happy with.
Business owner, Melbourne · commercial Law client
Client Stories
What our clients say
Our Team
The RESTRUCTURING AND INSOLVENCY TEAM
You get direct access to senior legal minds who actively steer your strategy, giving you the clarity and financial certainty you need to move forward with confidence.
Ray Purcell
MANAGING PARTNER
Ray is the Director and Principal of KPA Lawyers, bringing nearly 40 years of experience across litigation, mergers...
Jacob Gown
ASSOCIATE
Jacob practcies in the areas of owners corporations disputes, insolvency, and commercial and general litigation, with appearances across...
Erin Varker
PARTNER
Erin heads KPA Lawyers' Commercial division and has been with the firm since her admission to practice. She...
Zaid Mohseni
SPECIAL COUNSEL
Zaid has advised private, corporate and government clients on a wide range of transactions including corporate restructuring, fundraising,...