This course is offered to postgraduate students and assumes some knowledge in corporations law.

It will examine the concepts and principles informing corporate insolvency regimes to identify and evaluate the incentives embedded in them and the goals sought to be achieved. Perspectives from other jurisdictions will be used, where relevant, to evaluate corporate insolvency processes and outcomes.  

Topics to be discussed include:

• Theories and goals of corporate insolvency
• Rescue versus liquidation
• Incentives to initiate corporate insolvency processes
• Director liability
• Insolvency professionals

 To develop their knowledge and skills, students will engage in a range of learning activities, including lectures with guest speakers, podcasts, readings and seminars.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Synthesise and critically evaluate corporate insolvency theories and principles.
2. Reflect critically on corporate insolvency processes.
3. Predict and review developing issues and debates with respect to corporate insolvency and the management of corporate assets (for example cryptocurrencies).
4. Critically analyse and assess complex information at a theoretical level to develop knowledge and problem-solving skills with respect to corporate insolvency and communicate solutions to a variety of audiences.
5. Plan and conduct legal research on practical and policy questions relating to corporate insolvency.

Required Resources

Textbook

• A full list of readings will be available on Canvas two weeks before the course commencement date.

Required legislation

• Students should bring a copy of the Corporations Act 2001 to all classes. Thomson Reuters and LexisNexis each publish an annotated version of the Act, which students might find helpful.

Recommended Resources

Recommended texts

• Michael Murray & Jason Harris, Keay's Insolvency: Personal & Corporate Law and Practice (Thomson Reuters Australia, 11th ed, 2022)
• David Brown, Christopher Symes & Sulette Lombard, Australian Insolvency Law (LexisNexis Australia, 5th ed, 2023) 

For students who want to read more deeply, the coverage in Ford, Austin and Ramsay’s Principles of Corporations Law (available via Lexis Advance through the Law Library) is comprehensive.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• written comments
• verbal comments
• feedback to whole class, groups, individuals, etc

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). Feedback can also be provided to Course Conveners and teachers via the Student Experience of Learning & Teaching (SELT) feedback program. SELT surveys are confidential and also provide the Colleges and ANU Executive with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement.

Other Information

Task submission times refer to Canberra time (AEST/AEDT).

Extensions, late submission and penalties: https://law.anu.edu.au/extensions-late-submission-and-penalties

Extenuating circumstances: https://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/assessments-exams/extenuating-circumstances-application

Deferred examination: http://www.anu.edu.au/students/program-administration/assessments-exams/deferred-examinations

Penalties for excess word length: https://law.anu.edu.au/word-length-and-excess-word-penalties

Distribution of grades policy: https://law.anu.edu.au/grading

Assessment Reviews and Appeals: https://law.anu.edu.au/assessment-review-and-appeals

Further information about the course is available from the course Canvas page. Students are required to access the Canvas site regularly throughout the course for any announcements relating to the course.

 

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The ANU Academic Integrity website provides information about services available to assist students with their assignments, examinations and other learning activities, as well as providing clear guidance on the responsible and ethical use of AI technologies.

The following resources may also be useful:

• The ANU Library's Libguide is a valuable resource for gaining a comprehensive understanding of AI's role in academia.

• The ANU Academic Skills site provides useful information to ensure that you leverage AI responsibly and effectively.

• The ANU Law School Academic Integrity and Misconduct site provides content related to legal implications, ethical guidelines, and considerations when dealing with AI in the context of law.

Use of Generative AI Tools in Assessment

All work submitted for assessment at the ANU Law School must be your own independent and original work.

This means that generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools must not be used to draft assessment content, unless explicitly instructed by the course convenor. While limited use of AI tools to support learning may be permitted, for example, to assist with expression, structure, or the refinement of ideas, AI must not be used to generate primary text, legal analysis, or substantive content.

Inappropriate use of AI may constitute a breach of the Academic Integrity Rule 2021. For law students, academic integrity breaches may have serious professional consequences, as breaches must be disclosed to the relevant admissions authority.

Students are at university to develop critical skills in legal reasoning, analysis, and written communication. This requires active engagement with assessment tasks and the drafting and refinement of one’s own work. While AI tools may assist with polishing expression or organisation, they must not replace your reasoning, judgment, or authorship.

Used appropriately, AI can be a helpful tool for editing, planning, and limited refinement. However, AI should only be applied to small portions of text. Submitting work generated in large part by AI increases the risk of poor academic outcomes and academic integrity concerns.

Where AI or other assistive technologies are used, students must comply with all disclosure requirements that are available on the course Canvas site. 

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Course overview and approachAims of insolvency law;Theories.	Release of AT1
2	Rescue versus liquidationInsolvency stigmaIntroduction to personal insolvency (or bankruptcy) law.
3	Directors’ duties
4	Directors' duties
5	Voluntary administration. DOCA. Scheme of Arrangement. Winding up	Release of AT2
6	Voluntary administration. DOCA. Scheme of Arrangement. Winding up
7	Stakeholders in corporate insolvencyLitigation funding
8	Small business restructuring
9	Processes in selected jurisdictions
10	Insolvency Practitioners
11	Crypto assets, AI. Space insolvencyAirline insolvencies.
12	Review and overview

Tutorial Registration

ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. MyTimetable (MyTT) tutorial allocations are done on a first-come, first-served basis. If you hold a current EAP stating that you require priority selection, you will need to contact the College Student and Education Support team before MyTT opens.

If you are unable to secure a spot in your preferred timeslot, we recommend enrolling in another tutorial and joining the waitlist (indicated by a heart). If spots become available, they are automatically chronologically allocated to those on the waitlist.

Should an activity in MyTT clash with another, please contact the College Student and Education Support team with the course and activity details.

Please note that work commitments will not be considered as a reason for requesting a change to your allocation/s. It is expected that students make themselves available on weekdays for tutorials and seminars. 

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Class Participation	10 %	*	*	1,2,4
Online Blog Post	20 %	16/03/2026	07/04/2026	1,2,3,4
Research Essay	70 %	28/05/2026	*	1,2,3,4,5

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines , which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Integrity Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Extenuating Circumstances Application
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure
• Code of practice for teaching and learning

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Skills website. In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Canvas’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

For all courses taught in any mode (whether face to face or online), the ANU College of Law, Governance and Policy considers participation in the classes offered to be an important part of the educational experience of the program. Students are expected to attend all classes.

If circumstances arise which are beyond a student’s control and they are unable to attend a class, the student should contact the Course Convenor in advance (where possible), so that the convenor can adjust their expectations in relation to numbers for that class. If it is not possible to give advance notice, students should send the convenor an email as soon as possible with evidence to support the reason for failure to attend. 

Examination(s)

There is no final examination for this course.

Assessment Task 1

Class Participation

Details of Task: Students are to participate in class discussion in each live session.

Nature of Task: Compulsory. Failure to participate will result in a mark of zero for this assessment task.

Weighting: 10%

Due Date: Ongoing

Estimated Return Date: Official end of semester results release date.

Assessment Criteria:

a)      Understanding of the issues

• demonstrate familiarity with the issues, materials and topic
• ask questions, give answers or make contributions that are relevant and considered
• ability to make connections across materials and topics

b)      Communication / presentation

• clear question, answer or argument
• clarity and conciseness
• use of appropriate terminology

c)      Argument / analysis

• insight in dealing with theory/ideas
• addressing opposing arguments
• well-reasoned comments or conclusions

Assessment Task 2

Online Blog Post

Details of Task: This task requires you to reflect on one of the following questions: (i) What should corporate insolvency law's aims or purposes be? (ii) How can the issue of insolvency stigma be dealt with.

Nature of Task: Compulsory and non-redeemable. Failure to complete will result in a mark of zero for this task.

Weighting: 20%

Word Limit: 1,500 words. The ANU Law School's Word Length and Excess Word penalties policy can be found here.

Submission Requirements: Footnotes should be used for the referencing of all sources. All references should be compliant with the current edition of the Australian Guide to Legal Citation. Your submission must be made in a word processing file format (.doc, .docx). PDF files will not be accepted.

Due Date: 5pm, Monday 16 March 2026. Due to the nature of the task, late submission or extension is not permitted.

Estimated Return Date: 7 April 2026

Assessment Criteria: A complete assessment rubric will be made available on Canvas.

Assessment Task 3

Research Essay

Details of Task: Students are to conduct independent research and write an essay on a topic of their own choosing (subject to approval; topic cannot be one of the questions posed in AT2)

Nature of Task: Compulsory and non-redeemable. Failure to complete will result in a mark of zero for this task.

Weighting: 70%

Word Limit: 4,500 words. The ANU Law School's Word Length and Excess Word penalties policy can be found here.

Submission Requirements: Footnotes should be used for the referencing of all sources. All references should be compliant with the current edition of the Australian Guide to Legal Citation. Your submission must be made in a word processing file format (.doc, .docx). PDF files will not be accepted.

Due Date: 5pm, Thursday 28 May 2026. Late submissions (without an extension) are permitted, but late penalties will apply. Please be aware that if you are in your final course(s), any late submissions may delay your conferral date.

Estimated Return Date: Official end of semester results release date.

Assessment Criteria:A complete assessment rubric will be made available on Canvas.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. The University’s students are an integral part of that community. The academic integrity principle commits all students to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support, academic integrity, and to uphold this commitment by behaving honestly, responsibly and ethically, and with respect and fairness, in scholarly practice.

The University expects all staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle, the Academic Integrity Rule 2021, the Policy: Student Academic Integrity and Procedure: Student Academic Integrity, and to uphold high standards of academic integrity to ensure the quality and value of our qualifications.

The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 is a legal document that the University uses to promote academic integrity, and manage breaches of the academic integrity principle. The Policy and Procedure support the Rule by outlining overarching principles, responsibilities and processes. The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 commences on 1 December 2021 and applies to courses commencing on or after that date, as well as to research conduct occurring on or after that date. Prior to this, the Academic Misconduct Rule 2015 applies.

 

The University commits to assisting all students to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. All coursework students must complete the online Academic Integrity Module (Epigeum), and Higher Degree Research (HDR) students are required to complete research integrity training. The Academic Integrity website provides information about services available to assist students with their assignments, examinations and other learning activities, as well as understanding and upholding academic integrity.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. You must ensure that you upload the correct document on the specified submission due date and time. Any document modified after the due date and time will either incur a late penalty or will NOT be accepted. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education), submission must be through Turnitin in a word processing file format (.doc, .docx). Electronic copies in .pdf file format are not acceptable.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Individual assessment tasks may or may not allow for late submission. Policy regarding late submission is detailed below:

• Late submission not permitted. If submission of assessment tasks without an extension after the due date is not permitted, a mark of 0 will be awarded.
• Late submission permitted. Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item.
• Late submission is not accepted for tests or examinations.
• Late submission with an extension. To ensure equity for all students, the 5% penalty per working day for late submission of work does not apply if you have been granted an extension. Where an extension is granted, the revised due date and submission time will be provided in writing. Importantly, any revised due date is inclusive of weekends and public holidays. Regardless of which day of the week the revised due date falls on, students who submit after that date will be penalised by 5% of the possible marks available for the task per 24-hour period.

Referencing Requirements

The Academic Skills website has information to assist you with your writing and assessments. The website includes information about Academic Integrity including referencing requirements for different disciplines. There is also information on Plagiarism and different ways to use source material. Any use of artificial intelligence must be properly referenced. Failure to properly cite use of Generative AI will be considered a breach of academic integrity.

Returning Assignments

All marks and feedback will be provided by the return date listed in the class summary.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Resubmission of Assignments

• Maximum Submissions: Students can submit up to three times per assessment.
• Final Submission Counts: Only the last uploaded version will be marked — provided it is uploaded before marking begins.
• Late Submissions: If submitted after the due date, the final version will still be marked, but late penalties will apply (unless an extension has been approved).
• No Submissions After Return Date: Once the return-of-assessment date has passed, NO submissions will be accepted.
• Marking Already Started: If a marker has already begun marking a version, that version will be the one assessed — even if a newer one is uploaded later.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Accessibility for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents all ANU students