How we write and source these guides
Directors read this site while deciding what to do about a company under pressure. That is a decision with personal financial consequences, so it matters how the material was produced and who stands behind it.
Everything is sourced to primary law
Our guides are written from the legislation and from regulator publications, not from other firms' marketing material. Where a guide states a threshold, a timeframe, or a statutory consequence, it comes from one of the following, and the relevant sources are listed at the foot of each guide so you can check them yourself.
- Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) — Federal Register of Legislation
- Taxation Administration Act 1953 (Cth), Schedule 1, Division 269 — Federal Register of Legislation
- Small business restructuring and the restructuring plan — ASIC
- Report 810: Review of the small business restructuring process 2022–24 — ASIC
- Director penalty regime — Australian Taxation Office
- Firmer action we may take — Australian Taxation Office
Who writes them
Guides are written by the SBRHelp editorial desk and published under the SBRHelp name rather than under individual bylines. They are general explanations of how the statutory framework works — what the thresholds are, what the timeframes are, what a notice means — and they are written to be checkable against the sources listed above rather than taken on trust.
What a guide cannot do is tell you what to do about your company. That depends on facts a general explanation does not have: your lodgement position, your creditor mix, what the business can service, and how much time is left on any notice. That assessment is the registered liquidator's, not ours. Any practitioner proposed for your company will identify themselves and their ASIC registration to you in writing before any appointment is made, and ASIC maintains a public register of liquidators you can check against.
How current the material is
Each guide shows the month it was last updated. Insolvency practice moves — ATO recovery posture in particular has shifted more than once since the restructuring regime commenced — so we re-check guides against their sources at least annually, and sooner where legislation or regulator guidance changes.
What this site is, and how it is funded
SBRHelp publishes guidance and refers directors to registered liquidators who can assess a company's position and, where appropriate, accept an appointment. We are not registered liquidators and we do not take appointments ourselves. We earn nothing from the guides; the business is funded through the referral relationship, which is why the distinction between general information and formal advice is drawn firmly on every page.
Nothing on this site is legal, tax, or insolvency advice for your company. A formal appointment under Part 5.3B requires a written consent to act and an engagement with the appointed practitioner. See our disclaimer and terms of use.
Corrections
If something here is wrong or has gone out of date, we want to know. Email hello@sbrhelp.com.au or call (02) 8111 6600. Substantive corrections are made to the guide and the updated date is moved.