Phoenix companies: Facts over folklore
Phoenix restructures remain one of the most persistently misunderstood features of New Zealand’s insolvency framework – not least because the term itself is often used imprecisely. The common reaction is familiar: “The company owed hundreds of thousands of dollars, went into liquidation, and then the director simply started again down the road.” I recently heard […]
When can a director rely on advice?
Section 138 of the Companies Act 1993 (the Act) recognises that sometimes directors may not possess expert knowledge and need to rely on professional advice in the course of performing their functions and duties. This section is not a duty, but rather, an affirmative defence to an alleged breach of a director’s core duties under […]
I’m owed money and the director is transferring assets and paying his mates
Voidable disposition
IRD Debt: Approval is easy, but what does it cost?
A few weeks ago, I found myself staring at yet another set of company records where IRD debt had metastasised from a manageable shortfall into something terminal. The pattern is depressingly familiar: a slow month, a decision to defer PAYE “just this once,” and then, six months later, a balance that’s doubled while the directors […]
Shareholder current accounts – An insolvency practitioners perspective
Notes on Article:Released 4 December 2025IRD notes the loan will become income once it is not repayable. Shareholder current accounts A Shareholder loan account or Shareholder Current Account is a running account between a shareholder of a company and the company itself. A running account is the sum of, broadly speaking, the components of a […]
Compromising with creditors: How part XIV compromises work
In today’s business environment, it is increasingly rare to find a company operating without some level of debt. Ambitious growth plans, tight margins, and unexpected shocks often lead healthy businesses into distress. When financial pressure builds, whether due to misfortune, loss of a major customer, poor cashflow management, or external market downturns, directors may feel […]
Macro snapshot and insolvency tailwinds for 2026
The macro picture behind a rising wave of business failures is evident in the latest September 2025 quarter data released by Stats NZ Employment Total filled jobs fell from 2,256,000 in September 2024 to approximately 2,234,000 in September 2025, a 1.0% year-on-year decline (-0.99%) and 3.8% below the peak levels seen in December 2023, indicating […]
Voidable transactions – but what is a transaction?
Under the Companies Act 1993, the liquidator of a company in liquidation has the power to set aside certain transactions if the transaction resulted in the person or company receiving more than they would have in the liquidation of the company. If the transaction is successfully set aside by the liquidator, then the transaction can […]
Access and authority: A Liquidator’s power to obtain information
The principal duty of a liquidator, under s 253 of the Companies Act 1993, is to take possession of, realise, and distribute the company’s assets, or their proceeds, for the benefit of the company’s creditors. To do that job effectively, the law must equip the liquidator with robust investigative powers. Sections 261-266 of the Act […]
The importance of providing supporting documents when disputing a debt with a liquidator
When a company goes into liquidation, debtors are often faced with statutory demands and claims from the liquidator. These demands are not designed to be ordinary debt collection tools. Rather, under the Companies Act 1993 (the Act), their purpose is to establish whether a company is insolvent. With this in mind, statutory demands are appropriate […]
