MSE Insolvencies in Australia
Description
This episode features a conversation with Harry Lawless, a III NextGen member and Senior Associate at Norton Rose Fulbright Australia. The discussion explores the distinctive features of the Australian corporate framework for MSEs in financial distress. Harry explains the eligibility requirements, examines the advantages and limitations of the short moratorium regime and the types of creditors to which it applies, and outlines why the legislator adopted a debtor-in-possession (DIP) model despite Australia’s traditional preference for a practitioner-in-possession (PIP) approach. He also discusses the supervisory role of the restructuring advisor, who must be a qualified insolvency practitioner. The episode concludes with reflections on the framework’s success rate—initially slow but increasing markedly since 2023—and on the continuing need for reform.




