This course introduces students to the law of personal bankruptcy in Australia and further develops the law of corporate insolvency - as broadly introduced in the prerequisite course, Corporations Law. While understanding legal terminology, concepts, doctrine and processes are all vital to grasping and applying bankruptcy and insolvency laws, the course also seeks to frame those aspects in a wider historical, social, economic and policy context.

The course begins with an overview of debtor-creditor relations and the pre-insolvency context. Beyond this introductory phase, the course is broadly divided into two blocks, focusing initially upon personal bankruptcy - with attention directed to the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth) - and then corporate insolvency - focusing upon Part 5 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).

The course will be of interest to a variety of students. The Global Financial Crisis has generated tremendous activity and many opportunities in this field of law, as well as public pressure for reforming the law. Bankruptcy and Insolvency is a key area of specialised or general legal practice in firms of all sizes and locations. Many issues within this field overlap with a range of other fields such as: contracts, torts, property, equity and trusts, succession, constitutional, criminal, litigation and dispute management, evidence, commercial law, corporate law, banking and finance, taxation, administrative law, consumer protection, employment and family law. The course may also be of particular interest to students undertaking combined degrees or having experience or employment aspirations in business, commerce, public policy or the community law sector - and, indeed, to anyone else with an over-extended credit card.