The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) exercised its wind up powers to appoint liquidators to 10 abandoned companies to assist employees of these companies to gain access to the Fair Entitlements Guarantee scheme (FEG).
The appointment of liquidators also facilitates a full and proper investigation into the reasons why the companies failed and allows recovery of any voidable or unreasonable director-related transactions.
The latest abandoned companies owe at least 15 employees a total in excess of $429,000 in employee entitlements.
The companies are:
| Company | Liquidator and Firm | State |
|---|---|---|
| Adelaide Commercial Furniture Pty Ltd | Leigh Prior of Pitcher Partners | SA |
| JBKM Ventures Pty Ltd | Stefan Dopking of FTI Consulting | QLD |
| New Energy Technologies Pty Ltd | David Pratt and Ian England of PwC | NSW |
| Rifam Pty Ltd | Shane Cremin of Rodgers Reidy | VIC |
| Let it Rain Pty Ltd | Hugh Armenis of Bentleys | NSW |
| Focus on Training Pty Ltd | Shane Cremin of Rodgers Reidy | VIC |
| YQ Trading Pty Ltd | David Pratt and Ian England of PwC | NSW |
| Parklane Building Corporation Pty Ltd | Vaughan Strawbridge of Deloitte | NSW |
| Sureline Training Services Pty Ltd | Mark Englebert of FTI Consulting | WA |
| Australian Veterinary Hospitals (South Australia) Pty Ltd | Hugh Armenis of Bentleys | NSW |
Background
The FEG is a legislative safety net scheme funded by the Australian Government. It is designed to assist employees owed unpaid employee entitlements because of their employer company’s liquidation or the company directors’ bankruptcy. In addition, the Department of Employment operates the 'Fair Entitlements Guarantee Recovery Programme'; a programme designed to strengthen recovery activity of amounts advanced under the FEG Scheme.
However, some employees owed entitlements cannot access FEG because the companies’ directors are either unable to discharge their duties or abandoned their insolvent companies without putting them into liquidation. ASIC’s appointment of liquidators facilitates access to FEG for these employees. ASIC first used its powers in 2013 (refer: 13-233MR) and to date has wound up 60 companies that owed a total of 213 employees more than $2.9 million in entitlements.