ASIC Corporate Insolvency Update – Issue 40 – June 2026

Issue 40 of the Corporate Insolvency Update covers regulatory developments and issues affecting corporate insolvency markets.

RegistryConnect: what’s ahead for registered liquidators

As part of ASIC’s RegistryConnect program, we are introducing changes to Australia’s business registers to make them easier to use and improve the quality and integrity of registry data.

Registered liquidators are a key stakeholder for these changes, who rely on accurate and timely registry information to support appointments, investigations and statutory reporting obligations.

The current phase of RegistryConnect will focus on improving search services as well as allowing more streamlined digital interactions for company transactions and other professional registrations and lodgements.

In June 2026, the new company search service was introduced on the ASIC website, making it easier to find and interpret key entity information. This was the first in a series of staged releases aimed at progressively improving company search services. 

From 1 July 2027, we will also commence adding director ID information to our companies register as part of new director ID obligations.

Taken together with related law reform, these changes will reduce the risk of fraud and identity misuse, improve the accuracy of company records, make it easier to identify company directors, and improve the quality and usability of registry information that liquidators rely on.

ASIC recognises the need for liquidators to continue accessing reliable and timely registry information. We will provide advance notice, clear guidance and appropriate support as future changes approach.

Visit the ASIC website to find out more: RegistryConnect: Stabilising and uplifting ASIC business registers.

Simplification update: Email lodgement expanded for most ASIC paper forms

ASIC has expanded our email lodgement system to cover almost all paper-based forms, marking a significant milestone in our broader regulatory simplification agenda.

The newly enabled forms include a range of interactions relevant to insolvency, such as:

• copies of court orders (Form 105 Cover page for office copy of a court order)
• external administration name changes (Form 157 Application for change of name of a company under external administration)
• company reinstatements (Form 581 Application for ASIC reinstatement)
• corrections not available online (Form 492 Request for correction)
• notices of resolution (Form 205 Notification of resolution), and
• liquidator-related notifications including Form RL30 Notice of significant events involving a liquidator and Form RL31 Notice of inaccuracy in a return.

For registered liquidators, the expanded email lodgement channel provides a faster and more efficient way to meet statutory obligations. Key benefits include reduced reliance on postal services, improved data accuracy, and quicker turnaround times, supported by reduced manual handling.

While postal lodgement remains available for these forms, the shift to email reflects our continued investment in improving the accessibility and efficiency of regulatory interactions. Enhanced visibility and traceability of submissions also aim to reduce processing delays and streamline engagement with ASIC.

We will continue to build on this progress as part of our ongoing efforts to simplify regulatory processes and enhance digital service delivery.

ASIC calls for urgent cyber uplift as AI accelerates cyber threats

We have recently issued an open letter to licensees and directors calling for urgent action to strengthen cyber resilience, as advances in artificial intelligence (AI) accelerate the speed, scale and sophistication of cyber-attacks (26-092MR).

While cyber risk is not new, AI is placing existing controls under greater and more frequent pressure as it lowers the barrier to entry for malicious actors. Weaknesses that may once have been isolated can now be identified, combined and exploited more rapidly, and at scale.

These warnings are relevant to registered liquidators both within their own firms and in the appointments they undertake. Cyber incidents can disrupt external administrations, impact a continuing business and compromise sensitive data.

We encourage registered liquidators to read our open letter, and take the steps outlined in the letter to ensure they are positioned to respond to the cyber resilience risks posed by frontier AI models.

Review of ASIC power to make orders undoing the effect of creditor-defeating dispositions

In the September 2025 edition of the Corporate Insolvency Update (Issue 37), we noted our review of how we have administered our power under section 588FGAA(3) of the Corporations Act to make orders undoing the effect of creditor-defeating dispositions (CDD), including how we deal with requests from registered liquidators (RLs) and our existing guidance on the topic.

Review

During the review process, we:

• engaged with the ASIC teams that deal with RL requests
• engaged with nine RLs who had submitted requests for ASIC to make orders, and
• consulted the Australian Restructuring Insolvency & Turnaround Association, the Association of Independent Insolvency Practitioners and the Insolvency and Restructuring Committee of the Law Council of Australia.

Key findings

Key findings from the review include:

• ASIC’s existing guidance is adequate; however, some specific suggestions were made to enhance the guidance and the request template
• RLs would welcome the opportunity for direct and early engagement with ASIC to discuss the background and clarify a potential request, and discuss evidentiary requirements prior to submission
• the quality of evidence provided with CDD requests could be improved
• the time taken to assess requests could be reduced
• there was uncertainty about the processes to enforce an ASIC order, and
• ASIC may consider opportunities to raise awareness of the CDD regime and how the power under section 588GFAA(3) has been used.

Overall, we were told that ASIC’s power to make orders undoing the effect of a CDD is a valuable tool for RLs.

Next steps

We have now completed this review and are currently taking steps to respond to feedback received, including:

• reviewing and updating Information Sheet 261 ASIC orders about creditor-defeating dispositions (INFO 261) and the request template
• considering how we might implement a process to facilitate early engagement to discuss potential CDD requests, including the opportunity for RLs to meet with us before submitting a request, and
• considering steps to raise awareness of the CDD regime, which might include hosting a webinar for RLs and their staff or developing case studies to highlight how ASIC has exercised the power to make orders undoing the effect of CDDs.

Update to INFO 293 Corporate Insolvency: Requesting an eligible applicant authorisation

We have recently amended Information Sheet 293 Corporate Insolvency: Requesting an eligible applicant authorisation (INFO 293) to:

• provide greater clarity on the supporting documents required from applicants, and
• update the likely timeframe for a response from ASIC.

We require applicants to provide materials showing their relationship to the corporation. We request:

• Creditors provide a proof of debt and supporting documents showing that the proof of debt has been accepted by the liquidator. We acknowledge that, in many instances, liquidators may not have adjudicated proofs of debt and may therefore be unable to quantify the value of the debt. However, the liquidator may be able to confirm that a party is a creditor.
• Receivers/receivers and managers provide copies of the security documents supporting the deed of appointment. While this has always been our position, there has been some uncertainty among secured parties when we requested this information.

All applications should include a schedule of proposed examinees and information on whether the applicant has a relationship with any of the proposed examinees. Where an application is related to multiple companies, the schedule should set out the examinee of each company. Given the increasing number and complexity of applications, we have extended our expected processing time from one, to three months, upon receiving all the required information. While there is no statutory timeframe for ASIC to process these applications, we aim to provide a more accurate indicative timeframe. 

If your application is urgent, we may prioritise it in exceptional circumstances. These exceptional circumstances must be clearly set out in your application. For example, where a statutory limitation period is due to expire within the next three months, which would preclude the applicant from pursuing litigation for the benefit of creditors.

Seeking remuneration in abandoned company appointments

On 19 June 2026, we published a new webpage Seeking approval of remuneration for liquidators of abandoned companies to outline the process for registered liquidators to seek approval for their remuneration in abandoned company appointments from ASIC.

If you are appointed from our Abandoned Company Liquidator Panel, you will be eligible for a grant amount paid from the Assetless Administration Fund (AAF). The payment of the grant amount from the AAF will be arranged by ASIC. As at the date of publication, this is up to a maximum of $15,000 plus GST.

You may also seek approval for remuneration above the grant amount, to be paid from any realisable assets of the company.

If you are not on the panel, you will not be entitled to the grant amount. Any remuneration will be paid from the realised assets of the company.

There is no cap on the remuneration amount that ASIC can approve. Each matter will be considered on its merits. Generally speaking, we will only approve retrospective remuneration.

Your request for remuneration and any supporting documents should be sent to the ASIC action officer who notified you of the appointment. When seeking remuneration, you should provide us with: 

• an itemised fee account where the remuneration sought does not exceed the maximum default amount, and 
• a remuneration report where the remuneration sought exceeds the maximum default amount. 

Note: The maximum default amount for the period from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026 is $6,501. This amount will be indexed in future years and is therefore subject to change.   

For additional details, please refer to the Seeking approval of remuneration for liquidators of abandoned companies page of the ASIC website.

Fee waivers

If you are a registered liquidator and want to seek waiver of a late fee, you need to apply to the Department of Finance for a waiver of debt.

ASIC do not currently have delegation under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 to assess a waiver of fees for a non-company debtor (i.e. registered company auditor, registered liquidator, individual licensee).

The Department of Finance may consider waiver of debt where special circumstances warrant debt relief. Registered liquidators should visit the Department of Finance website for information about how to apply.

For more information, please refer to the Ask ASIC to review a late fee page on the ASIC website.

ASIC retains the ability to consider IFM or CSLR levy waivers.

New information sheet explains ASIC’s power to appoint reviewing liquidators

On 18 June 2026, we released a new information sheet setting out when ASIC may use our power to appoint a reviewing liquidator under Subdivision C of Division 90 of Schedule 2 to the Corporations Act 2001.

It explains:

• how to apply to ASIC to have a reviewing liquidator appointed, including who can apply
• what we will consider before we appoint a reviewing liquidator, and
• what to expect after we appoint a reviewing liquidator.

For additional details, please refer to ASIC releases guidance on its powers to appoint a reviewing liquidator.

Latest news, updates and announcements

• 26-118MR ASIC disqualifies Shashikumari Agrawal, wife of convicted Mansa Group director, from managing corporations for 5 years
• 26-110MR ASIC disqualifies NSW director Genna Raber for 5 years
• Report 830 Regulatory simplification progress report (REP 830)
• 26-100MR ASIC continues to ease regulatory burden
• 26-094MR ASIC disqualifies NSW hospitality director Ken Sadamatsu for maximum 5 years
• 26-085MR ASIC disqualifies NSW director Lambros Hilellis for 5 years
• 26-076MR ASIC disqualifies Gold Coast director David John Parker for maximum 5-year period
• 26-061MR ASIC disqualifies Ashod Balanian from managing corporations for maximum five-year period

Insolvency statistics

Our insolvency statistics show that 12,819 companies entered external administration during the first 11 months of the current financial year, down 4.6% from the 12,105 companies recorded for the same period in 2024–25.

As of 31 May 2026, there were 3,724,139 registered companies. From 1 June 2025 to 31 May 2026, the ratio of companies entering administration compared to the number of companies registered is 0.38%. This ratio remains well below the peaks of 0.56% and 0.53% in the 2011–12 and 2012–13 financial years, respectively.  

From 1 July 2025 to 31 May 2026, the most common industries for appointments were construction (24.4%), accommodation and food services (14.9%), other/non-described services (9.8%), retail trade (7.2%) and professional, scientific and technical services (6.8%).

For more information, please see insolvency statistics on the ASIC website.

Contacts

Email support and contact details for ASIC team members for each state and territory are available on the Contacts page.