Submission: Action against fraudulent phoenix activity – Commonwealth Government proposals paper
Whilst Consumer Action generally agrees with the proposition in the Proposals Paper – that the underlying distinction between illegitimate, or phoenix activity and a legitimate use of the corporate form is the intention for which the activity is undertaken – we note our experience that there is a further category of activity that is neither legitimate nor fraudulent. That is the case of ‘serial’ phoenix activity – where the fraudulent intent may be absent, but the effect of multiple insolvencies and the reestablishment of a substantially similar business renders the activity illegitimate. Consumer Action and its predecessor organisations have noted individuals in the past who have repeatedly engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct, or sold defective goods, and then wound up their current corporate entity only to recommence the same activity under the guise of another entity.
To read our submission, click here: Action against fraudulent phoenix activity – Commonwealth Government proposals paper.
