Bankruptcy Act 1966

PART IV - PROCEEDINGS IN CONNEXION WITH BANKRUPTCY  

Division 1 - Acts of bankruptcy  

SECTION 40   ACTS OF BANKRUPTCY  

40(1)    
A debtor commits an act of bankruptcy in each of the following cases:

(a)    if in Australia or elsewhere he or she makes a conveyance or assignment of his or her property for the benefit of his or her creditors generally;

(b)    if in Australia or elsewhere:

(i) he or she makes a conveyance, transfer, settlement or other disposition of his or her property or of any part of his or her property;

(ii) he or she creates a charge on his or her property or on any part of his or her property;

(iii) he or she makes a payment; or

(iv) he or she incurs an obligation;

that would, if he or she became a bankrupt, be void as against the trustee;

(c)    if, with intent to defeat or delay his or her creditors:

(i) he or she departs or remains out of Australia;

(ii) he or she departs from his or her dwelling-house or usual place of business;

(iii) he or she otherwise absents himself or herself; or

(iv) he or she begins to keep house;

(d)    if:

(i) execution has been issued against him or her under process of a court and any of his or her property has, in consequence, either been sold by the sheriff or held by the sheriff for 21 days; or

(ii) execution has been issued against him or her under process of a court and has been returned unsatisfied;

(daa)    

if the debtor presents a debtor ' s petition under this Act;

(da)    if the debtor presents to the Official Receiver a declaration under section 54A ;

(e)    

if, at a meeting of any of his or her creditors:

(i) he or she consents to present a debtor ' s petition under this Act and does not, within 7 days from the date on which he or she so consented, present the petition; or

(ii) he or she consents to sign an authority under section 188 and does not, within 7 days from the date on which he or she so consented, sign such an authority and inform the chair of the meeting, in writing, of the name of the person in whose favour the authority has been signed;

(f)    

if, at a meeting of any of his or her creditors, he or she admits that he or she is in insolvent circumstances and, having been requested by a resolution of the creditors to bring his or her affairs under the provisions of this Act, he or she does not, within 7 days from the date of the meeting, either:

(i) present a debtor ' s petition; or

(ii) sign an authority under section 188 and inform the chair of the meeting, in writing, of the name of the person in whose favour the authority has been signed;

(g)    

if a creditor who has obtained against the debtor a final judgment or final order, being a judgment or order the execution of which has not been stayed, has served on the debtor in Australia or, by leave of the Court, elsewhere, a bankruptcy notice under this Act and the debtor does not:

(i) where the notice was served in Australia - within the time fixed for compliance with the notice; or

(ii) where the notice was served elsewhere - within the time specified by the order giving leave to effect the service;

comply with the requirements of the notice or satisfy the Court that he or she has a counter-claim, set-off or cross demand equal to or exceeding the amount of the judgment debt or sum payable under the final order, as the case may be, being a counter-claim, set-off or cross demand that he or she could not have set up in the action or proceeding in which the judgment or order was obtained;

(h)    if he or she gives notice to any of his or her creditors that he or she has suspended, or that he or she is about to suspend, payment of his or her debts;

(ha)    

if the debtor gives the Official Receiver a debt agreement proposal;

(hb)    

if a debt agreement proposal given by the debtor to the Official Receiver is accepted by the debtor ' s creditors;

(hc)    if the debtor breaches a debt agreement;

(hd)    

if a debt agreement to which the debtor was a party (as a debtor) is terminated under section 185P , 185Q or 185QA ;

(i)    if he or she signs an authority under section 188 ;

(j)    if a meeting of his or her creditors is called in pursuance of such an authority;

(k)    if, without sufficient cause, he or she fails to attend a meeting of his or her creditors called in pursuance of such an authority;

(l)    

if, having been required by a special resolution of a meeting of his or her creditors so called to execute a personal insolvency agreement or to present a debtor ' s petition, he or she fails, without sufficient cause:

(i) to comply with the requirements of this Act as to the execution of the agreement by him or her; or

(ii) to present a debtor ' s petition within the time specified in the resolution;

as the case may be;

(m)    

if a personal insolvency agreement executed by him or her under Part X is:

(i) set aside by the Court; or

(ii) terminated;

(n)    if a composition or scheme of arrangement accepted by the debtor ' s creditors under Division 6 of Part IV is:

(i) set aside by the Court; or

(ii) terminated;

(o)    

if the debtor becomes insolvent as a result of one or more transfers of property in accordance with:

(i) a financial agreement (within the meaning of the Family Law Act 1975 ); or

(ii) a Part VIIIAB financial agreement (within the meaning of the Family Law Act 1975 ); or

(iii) a financial agreement within the meaning of Part 5A of the Family Court Act 1997 (WA) (including a superannuation agreement (within the meaning of Part VIIIC of the Family Law Act 1975 ) that is included in such a financial agreement);

to which the debtor is a party.

40(2)    
In calculating for the purposes of subparagraph (1)(d)(i) the period for which property has been held by the sheriff, any time between the date on which an interpleader summons in respect of the property is taken out and the date on which the proceedings on the summons are finally disposed of, settled or discontinued shall not be taken into account.

40(3)    
For the purposes of paragraph (1)(g) :

(a)    

where leave is given by a court to enforce an award made on a submission to arbitration, being an award under which money is payable by a debtor to another person:

(i) the award shall be deemed to be a final order obtained by that person against the debtor; and

(ii) the arbitration proceedings shall be deemed to be the proceeding in which that final order was obtained; and

(b)    

a judgment or order that is enforceable as, or in the same manner as, a final judgment obtained in an action shall be deemed to be a final judgment so obtained and the proceedings in which, or in consequence of which, the judgment or order was obtained shall be deemed to be the action in which it was obtained; and

(c) (Omitted by No 44 of 1996, Sch 1, Pt 1(107).)

(d)    

a person who is for the time being entitled to enforce a final judgment or final order for the payment of money shall be deemed to be a creditor who has obtained a final judgment or final order; and

(e)    a judgment or order for the payment of money made by the Court in the exercise of jurisdiction conferred on it by this Act shall be deemed to be a judgment or order the execution of which has not been stayed notwithstanding that it may not be enforceable at law by execution; and

(f)    an order made after the commencement of this paragraph under the Family Law Act 1975 for the payment by a person of arrears of maintenance for another person shall be deemed to be a final order against the first-mentioned person obtained by the other person; and

(g)    

an order made after the commencement of this paragraph under the Family Court Act 1997 (WA) for the payment by a person of arrears of maintenance for another person shall be deemed to be a final order against the first-mentioned person obtained by the other person.

40(4)    
The act of bankruptcy specified in paragraph (1)(j) shall be deemed to be committed on the day on which the notices calling the meeting are delivered or sent to the creditors or, if they are not all delivered or sent on the one day, on the day on which the last of the notices is so delivered or sent.

40(5)    

The act of bankruptcy specified in paragraph (1)(l) shall be deemed to be committed on the day after the day on which the period within which the agreement is required to be executed by the debtor or the period within which the petition is required to be presented, as the case may be, expires.

40(6)    

The act of bankruptcy specified in paragraph (1)(m) shall be deemed to be committed on the day on which the agreement is set aside or terminated, as the case may be.

40(7)    

The act of bankruptcy specified in paragraph (1)(n) shall be deemed to be committed on the day on which the composition or scheme of arrangement is set aside or terminated.

40(7A)    
For the purposes of paragraph (1)(o) :

(a)     Transfer of property includes a payment of money; and

(b)    a person who does something that results in another person becoming the owner of property that did not previously exist is taken to have transferred the property to the other person.

40(8)    
This section applies, so far as it is capable of application, in relation to acts and things done or occurring, and omissions and failures to do acts or things occurring, before, or partly before and partly after, the commencement of this Act, as well as to acts and things done or occurring, and omissions and failures to do acts and things occurring, after the commencement of this Act.