p>Bankruptcy Act
Act No. 33 of 1966 as amended
Abstract
An Act relating to Bankruptcy
Act No. 33 of 1966 as amended
This compilation was prepared on 1 September 2011
taking into account amendments up to Act No. 46 of 2011
The text of any of those amendments not in force on that date is appended in the Notes section
The operation of amendments that have been incorporated may be affected by application provisions that are set out in the Notes section
Prepared by the Office of Legislative Drafting and Publishing,
Attorney-General’s Department, Canberra
Part I Preliminary
1 Short title [see Note 1]
This Act may be cited as the Bankruptcy Act 1966.
2 Commencement [see Note 1]
This Act shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by Proclamation.
4 Repeal
(1) The Acts specified in Schedule 1 are repealed.
(2) Notwithstanding the repeal of the Bankruptcy Act 1958 or the Bankruptcy Act 1959 effected by subsection (1) of this section:
(a) the provisions of section 7 of the Bankruptcy Act 1958, as amended by the Bankruptcy Act 1959, continue to apply to a purported extension of time or a purported fixing of a time to which those provisions applied immediately before the commencement of this Act; and
(b) the provisions of section 5 of the Bankruptcy Act 1959 continue to apply to a seal or stamp to which those provisions applied immediately before the commencement of this Act;
as if those Acts had not been repealed.
Part IA Interpretation
5 Interpretation
(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:
ADI (authorised deposit-taking institution) means:
(a) a body corporate that is an ADI for the purposes of the Banking Act 1959; or
(b) the Reserve Bank of Australia; or
(c) any other bank approved in writing for the purposes of this definition:
(i) by the Treasurer; or
(ii) by a person authorised in writing by the Treasurer to give approvals for the purposes of this definition.
administrator, in relation to a debt agreement, means the person:
(a) authorised by the agreement to deal with property under the agreement; or
(b) who becomes the replacement administrator under section 185ZB; or
(c) appointed by an Official Receiver under section 185ZC.
affidavit includes affirmation and statutory declaration.
approved form means an electronic or other form approved, in writing, by the Inspector-General.
associated entity, in relation to a person, means:
(a) an entity (other than a company) that is, or has been, associated with the person; or
(b) a company that is, or has been, associated with the person at a time when the company is, or was, as the case may be, a private company.
authorised employee means an APS employee whose duties include either or both of the following:
(a) supporting the Inspector-General in the performance of his or her functions, or in the exercise of his or her powers, under this Act;
(b) supporting the Official Receivers in the performance of their functions, or in the exercise of their powers, under this Act.
available act of bankruptcy, in relation to a debtor, means an act of bankruptcy available for a petition against the debtor at the date of the presentation of the petition on which, or by virtue of the presentation of which, the debtor becomes a bankrupt.
bankrupt means a person:
(a) against whose estate a sequestration order has been made; or
(b) who has become a bankrupt by virtue of the presentation of a debtor’s petition.
bankruptcy, in relation to jurisdiction or proceedings, means any jurisdiction or proceedings under or by virtue of this Act.
books includes any account, deed, paper, writing or document and any record of information however compiled, recorded or stored, whether in writing, on microfilm, by electronic process or otherwise.
breach of duty means malfeasance, misfeasance, negligence, wilful default or breach of trust.
child: without limiting who is a child of a person for the purposes of this Act, each of the following is the child of a person:
(a) an adopted child, stepchild or exnuptial child of the person;
(b) someone who is a child of the person within the meaning of the Family Law Act 1975.
close relative, in relation to a person, means a spouse, de facto partner, parent, child, brother, sister, half-brother, or half-sister, of the person.
company means a corporation, other than a corporation that is incorporated within Australia or an external Territory and is:
(a) a public authority; or
(b) an instrumentality or agency of the Crown in right of the Commonwealth, in right of a State or in right of a Territory of the Commonwealth.
company officer, in relation to a corporation, includes:
(a) a director or secretary of the corporation;
(b) a receiver and manager of property of the corporation appointed under a power contained in an instrument;
(ba) an administrator, within the meaning of the Corporations Act 2001, of the corporation;
(bb) an administrator of a deed of company arrangement executed by the corporation under Part 5.3A of that Act;
(d) a liquidator of the corporation appointed in a voluntary winding up of the corporation; and
(e) a trustee or other person administering a compromise or arrangement made between the corporation and another person or other persons;
but does not include:
(f) a receiver who is not also a manager;
(g) a receiver and manager appointed by a court; or
(h) a liquidator appointed by a court.
confiscation order has the same meaning as in the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
constable means a member or special member of the Australian Federal Police or a member of the Police Force of a State or Territory.
corporation includes any body corporate.
corresponding law has the same meaning as in the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
court of summary jurisdiction includes a court of a Territory sitting as a court for the making of summary orders or the summary punishment of offences under the law of the Territory.
creditor, in relation to a liability under a maintenance order, includes the Child Support Registrar referred to in the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988.
creditor’s