Bankruptcy Act 1966

PART IV - PROCEEDINGS IN CONNEXION WITH BANKRUPTCY  

Division 3 - Debtors ' petitions  

SECTION 56C   REFERRAL TO THE COURT OF A DEBTOR ' S PETITION AGAINST A PARTNERSHIP  

56C(1)   [When debtor ' s petition must be referred to Court]  

The Official Receiver must refer a debtor ' s petition against a partnership to the Court for a direction to accept or reject the petition if either or both of the following conditions are met:

(a) the petition was presented against the partnership by some, but not all, members of the partnership;

(b) there is at least one creditor ' s petition pending against at least one of the members of the partnership (not counting a creditor ' s petition against all the members of the partnership and no-one else).

Example 1: Edith, Lindsay and Bertha are the members of a partnership. When Edith and Lindsay present a debtor ' s petition against the partnership there is a creditor ' s petition pending against Bertha. The Official Receiver must refer the debtor ' s petition to the Court.

Example 2: Keith, Leigh and Judith are the members of a partnership. When they all present a debtor ' s petition against the partnership, there are 2 creditor ' s petitions pending: one against Keith, Leigh and Judith, the other against Judith alone. The Official Receiver must refer the debtor ' s petition to the Court.

Example 3: Meredith, Ramsay and Wilson are the members of a partnership. When they all present a debtor ' s petition against the partnership, there are 2 creditor ' s petitions pending. Both of the creditor ' s petitions are against Meredith, Ramsay and Wilson (and no-one else). There is no requirement for the Official Receiver to refer the debtor ' s petition to the Court.

56C(2)   [Petition not presented by all members of partnership]  

If the Official Receiver refers a petition to the Court because the petition was presented by some, but not all, of the members of the partnership, the Official Receiver must give notice in accordance with the regulations to the members who did not present the petition.

56C(3)   [Court must direct Official Receiver]  

After a petition has been referred to the Court, the Court must direct the Official Receiver:

(a) to accept the petition in the form in which it was referred to the Court; or

(b) to accept the petition after amending it as directed by the Court; or

(c) to reject the petition.

56C(4)   [Stay under proclaimed law]  

If:

(a) a debtor ' s petition is presented against a partnership that includes a person to whom a stay applies under a proclaimed law; and

(b) the person is not one of the petitioning partners;

the Court must not give a direction in relation to the petition until the person administering the proclaimed law has had an opportunity to be heard.

56C(5)   [Court must specify time of bankruptcy]  

If the Court directs the Official Receiver to accept (either with or without amendments) a petition referred to the Court, the Court must specify the time of the commencement of the bankruptcy of each of the persons who becomes a bankrupt as a result of the acceptance of the petition.