A director may be liable for insolvent trading if the company incurs a debt whilst it is insolvent, and there were reasonable grounds for suspecting that the company was insolvent at the time.

The Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) was amended in early 2020 to provide a safe harbour for directors in relation to insolvent trading during the COVID-19 pandemic. It meant that a director may have avoided personal liability for insolvent trading if certain criteria were met.

The debt must have been:

This protection was only available to eligible companies under measures known as temporary restructuring relief. The regime ended on 31 March 2021. For more information, visit the Australian Securities and Investments Commission website or seek specialist accounting or legal advice.

The minimum amount for a statutory demand under section 459E of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) was increased during the pandemic to $20,000, and the time for responding increased to 6 months. On 1 January 2021, this measure ceased and the minimum amount reverted to $2,000 with 21 days in which to respond. On 1 July 2021, the minimum amount for a statutory demand was permanently increased to $4,000.