NSW Possible to Annul Bankruptcy?

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Dan B

Member
13 June 2018
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A friend was listed as a director of a company that was put in to administration by the beneficial owner. Prior to this, the beneficial owner ran up a significant tax bill and a director's penalty notice was issued to my friend by the ATO.

She was told (and pressured) in to lodging for bankruptcy... She has since realised her error and would like to explore her options of having the bankruptcy annulled. She has significant evidence to prove this guy was the one benefiting from the business and making plenty of money by not paying the taxes.

Is there a realistic opportunity for her to challenge this and have the bankruptcy annulled?

It's incredibly unfair that she is suffering the consequences of this while the guy who made the money lives in luxury.
 

Paul Cott

Well-Known Member
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26 May 2014
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Ballarat, Victoria
Hi Dan B,

This does seem to be very unfair to your friend but I'm not sure much can be done now.

Unfortunately, being a director of a company does make one potentially liable for a lot of things, and director penalty notices really lock a director in to the liability. So being a director is a step that should be very seriously considered before doing so, for a number of reasons.

I'll be interested to hear what others hear but as I said nothing legally that can be done jumps out at me.
 

Rob Legat - SBPL

Lawyer
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16 February 2017
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Gold Coast, Queensland
lawtap.com
There are a few issues with this scenario which need clarification:

- Was you friend the only director, or was the beneficial owner also a director?

- I’m assuming the tax bill was the company’s, not the beneficial owners. Is that correct?

- When you say tax, do you mean PAYG instalments and/or superannuation guarantee charge liabilities?

- Why was your friend not aware that the amounts were not being paid?

- If she was aware, what did she do about it?