Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bradfield for his contribution to the debate on the Bankruptcy Amendment (Discharge from Bankruptcy) Bill 2023 , but it is really difficult to thank the member for Melbourne for the puffed up indignation we have just had on display, with not one single word about the content of the actual bill that's before the parliament. To make the point clear about this puffed up indignation, what we've heard from the member for Melbourne is a complaint about some imagined deficiency in process. Other members of the crossbench, not including the member for Melbourne, attended the briefing provided by the government and they were satisfied as to the need for this legislation.

I will now go to the actual content of the legislation. Perhaps I could invite the member for Melbourne to have an actual look at what the bill does. The bill amends the Bankruptcy Act 1966 to accurately reflect the way automatic bankruptcy discharge dates have been calculated by the Australian Financial Security Authority and its predecessors for over 30 years. The government is committed to ensuring that there is legal certainty for those who have engaged with the bankruptcy system over this 30-year period. The retrospective application of the bill ensures that past decisions are validated. It confirms the position people already believed themselves to be in and allows for any orders of the court to be upheld. The bill will also—and this is prospective—allow the official receiver to assess a statement of affairs for adequacy.

Bankrupt persons are usually automatically discharged after three years and one day after the filing of their statement of affairs. Historically, in most cases, the Australian Financial Security Authority, in its capacity as official receiver, has calculated the discharge date from the acceptance date of a bankrupt person's statement of affairs. In a majority of cases, the statement of affairs is accepted on the day it's filed. However, there have been instances where the date of acceptance was later than the date of filing. Where this has occurred, it will have impacted on the calculation of a person's automatic discharge date. In practice, persons filing for bankruptcy may require assistance from the Australian Financial Security Authority to provide an adequate statement of affairs. Rather than rejecting any inadequate statement of affairs, the debtor or bankrupt person is provided with an opportunity to provide further information. This process is designed to support debtors when engaging with the system.

The provisions contained in this bill provide current and future Australian bankrupt persons certainty over their automatic discharge date and allow the Australian Financial Security Authority to continue its practice of assessing bankruptcy applications for adequacy in order to assist with the effective administration of bankruptcy statements. The new provisions will require the official receiver to either accept or refuse to accept a statement of affairs within 14 days of receiving it. The time frame will ensure decisions are made within a reasonable and transparent time. The bill will also ensure that the bankruptcy period of those who are or have been affected by this issue is consistent with the dates recorded by the official receiver prior to the commencement in respect to the bankruptcy. These amendments will validate decisions made before the commencement of the bill in reliance on those dates. The bill provides certainty for those who are currently in or have previously entered the bankruptcy system over the past 30 years and clarifies the process of accepting a statement of affairs.

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