Menzies Advisory

Menzies Advisory Liquidators & Receivers - Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne Our expert team consists of Registered Liquidators and qualified Accountants.

Menzies Advisory Liquidators & Receivers are specialists in corporate insolvency, corporate turnarounds and corporate evaluations. We have over 40 years experience and offer professional, compassionate and trusted insolvency, company administration and consulting services. We understand the difficulties associated with external administration and seek to make this time as stress-free as possible for effected stakeholders. We have empathy for your situation.

Most Voluntary Administrations end in liquidation. The DOCA — the tool literally designed to save the business — is unde...
11/06/2026

Most Voluntary Administrations end in liquidation. The DOCA — the tool literally designed to save the business — is underused.

A Deed of Company Arrangement is a binding agreement between the company and its creditors that varies how the debts get dealt with. It can:

→ Compromise debt to cents in the dollar
→ Allow the business to keep trading
→ Bring in new investment or a buyer
→ Quarantine pre-administration liabilities so the business can move forward
→ Preserve jobs, contracts, licences, and goodwill that would evaporate in liquidation

Why don't more VAs end in a DOCA?

Usually one of three reasons: the proposal wasn't credible, the director left it too late and there was nothing left to save, or no one did the structuring work to make a DOCA viable.

The first two are usually fatal by the time the VA starts. The third is fixable — but only if it's on the table from day one.

If a VA is on the cards, the question to ask isn't "what's the process?" It's "what's the realistic restructuring outcome, and what do we need to do now to make it possible?"

Learn more at www.menziesadvisory.com.au or you can call us on 1300 948 593.

To the accountants and bookkeepers reading this: you usually see it before anyone else.Five signs the company in front o...
09/06/2026

To the accountants and bookkeepers reading this: you usually see it before anyone else.

Five signs the company in front of you is heading toward insolvency:

1. **ATO arrears creeping up**, especially unpaid SGC and unlodged BAS
2. **Director loan accounts growing** while the company starves
3. **Aged payables stretched past 90 days**, with the same suppliers being shuffled
4. **Bank balance running on fumes** at the same point every month
5. **Director asking about "what would happen if…"** — that question is rarely hypothetical

By the time any of these are obvious, the runway for restructuring tools is shortening fast. SBR has eligibility thresholds. Safe harbour requires lodgements to be current. DPN exposure compounds every month of inaction.

The earlier the conversation, the more options exist.

A 30-minute confidential chat with an insolvency practitioner costs nothing and often changes the trajectory. We'd much rather help you help your client at this stage than at the next one.

Learn more at www.menziesadvisory.com.au or you can call us on 1300 948 593.

"We're restructuring, so safe harbour applies."No. That's not how it works.Safe harbour under s588GA of the Corporations...
05/06/2026

"We're restructuring, so safe harbour applies."

No. That's not how it works.

Safe harbour under s588GA of the Corporations Act is a defence to insolvent trading — but only if you can show, on the evidence, that the director was developing one or more courses of action **reasonably likely to lead to a better outcome** for the company than immediate administration or liquidation.

What that actually requires:

→ Proper books and records, kept current
→ Tax lodgements up to date (this is a statutory prerequisite)
→ Employee entitlements paid (or being addressed)
→ Appropriately qualified advice
→ A documented plan with steps, timelines, and decision points
→ Honest assessment of whether the plan is working

The defence collapses the moment any of those break down — and it's the director who has to prove all of it.

Safe harbour is real protection. But it's earned through documented discipline, not declared after the fact.

Learn more at www.menziesadvisory.com.au or you can call us on 1300 948 593.

Three insolvency tools. Same broad goal — a controlled outcome. Very different paths.**Small Business Restructuring (SBR...
02/06/2026

Three insolvency tools. Same broad goal — a controlled outcome. Very different paths.

**Small Business Restructuring (SBR)**
For companies with

You've received a statutory demand. You have 21 days. The clock doesn't stop for weekends, public holidays, or because y...
28/05/2026

You've received a statutory demand. You have 21 days. The clock doesn't stop for weekends, public holidays, or because you're hoping it'll go away.

What happens if you do nothing:

After day 21, your company is **deemed insolvent**. The creditor can apply to wind it up, and the court will start from the position that the company can't pay its debts.

You have three options inside the window:

1. **Pay** the debt
2. **Negotiate** a payment arrangement (and ideally get the demand withdrawn)
3. **Apply to set the demand aside** — but only on specific grounds (genuine dispute, offsetting claim, or a defect causing substantial injustice)

What you cannot do is ring the creditor on day 20 and ask for "a few more weeks." Once the window closes, the rights have crystallised.

If you're a director holding one of these and the deadline is close, the path forward depends entirely on whether the underlying debt is real and whether the company can survive paying it. Both questions need answering quickly.

Learn more at www.menziesadvisory.com.au or you can call us on 1300 948 593.

There are two types of Director Penalty Notice. Only one gives you a way out.**Standard DPN** — issued when PAYG, GST or...
25/05/2026

There are two types of Director Penalty Notice. Only one gives you a way out.

**Standard DPN** — issued when PAYG, GST or SGC has been reported on time but not paid. You have 21 days from the date of the notice (not the date you receive it) to do one of three things: pay, appoint a voluntary administrator, appoint a small business restructuring practitioner, or place the company into liquidation.

**Lockdown DPN** — issued when those liabilities weren't reported within 3 months of the due date (or 1 day for SGC). There is no escape route. The director is personally liable, full stop. Liquidation doesn't help.

The single biggest mistake we see:

Directors stop lodging because they can't pay. They think they're buying time. They're actually converting an avoidable liability into a personal one.

**Lodge on time. Always.** Even if you can't pay a cent.

If a DPN has landed, the 21-day window is real. Don't lose days hoping it'll resolve itself.

Learn more at www.menziesadvisory.com.au or you can call us on 1300 948 593.

The ATO has quietly raised the bar on Small Business Restructuring proposals.If you're an accountant or director thinkin...
21/05/2026

The ATO has quietly raised the bar on Small Business Restructuring proposals.

If you're an accountant or director thinking about SBR as a way to compromise tax debt, the proposals that were getting waved through 18 months ago are now getting pushed back, knocked back, or sent back for more detail.

What's actually changing:

→ The ATO wants better evidence of viability, not just promises
→ Lodgements need to be up to date (not "we'll get there")
→ Director conduct is being scrutinised — phoenix patterns are a fast no
→ The proposed return needs to genuinely beat the liquidation alternative
→ Comparison statements are being read, not skimmed

The takeaway: SBR is still a powerful tool. But a thin proposal isn't going to survive contact with a creditor that holds most of the vote.

If you're an advisor preparing your client for an SBR conversation, the prep work matters more now than it ever has.

Happy to talk through what a credible proposal looks like in the current environment.

Learn more at www.menziesadvisory.com.au or you can call us on 1300 948 593.

The business liquidation process begins when a company cannot pay its debts as they fall due. This formal procedure invo...
30/03/2026

The business liquidation process begins when a company cannot pay its debts as they fall due. This formal procedure involves a liquidator taking control to sell assets and distribute funds to creditors. We provide clear guidance for Gold Coast directors through every stage of this transition. If your company is facing insolvency, reach out to us on 1300 948 593 for a confidential discussion.

Court liquidation often occurs when a creditor makes an application because a debt has remained unpaid for an extended p...
27/03/2026

Court liquidation often occurs when a creditor makes an application because a debt has remained unpaid for an extended period. This is a serious legal matter that requires an immediate response to protect the director's position. Our team provides the guidance needed to respond to these legal notices and manage the subsequent process. Call 1300 948 593 to get professional advice on how to handle a winding up application.

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5315 Harbourview Drive
Southport, QLD
4212

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