Wind up a company that owes you money
We take you from an unanswered demand to a winding up order, and put a liquidator in charge of what is left.A winding up application is not really about ending a company. Most of them never reach a hearing, because the application itself is what finally produces payment from a debtor who has ignored everything before it. Where it does proceed, it hands the company to a liquidator who can reach what you never could: money moved to related parties, payments made to favoured creditors on the way down, and the conduct of the directors themselves. The process under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (the Act) is procedurally strict, and an application that is not filed, served, advertised and evidenced exactly as the rules require is dismissed with your costs attached to it.
A commercial answer first
You find out what a liquidator would realistically recover before you pay for an application.
An application that holds up
The demand, the service and the advertising are done to the standard that stops the matter being dismissed on procedure.
Claims you cannot bring yourself
A liquidator can pursue voidable transactions and insolvent trading, which is often where the only remaining value sits.
What does a creditor-initiated winding up actually achieve?
A winding up application asks the court to put a company into liquidation, usually on the strength of an unanswered statutory demand and the presumption of insolvency it creates. If the order is made, a liquidator takes control, realises what can be realised, investigates how the company got here, and distributes the proceeds in the order of priority the Act sets. The part creditors tend to underrate is the investigation. A liquidator can pursue voidable transactions and insolvent trading claims that no individual creditor has standing to bring, and in a company with little left those claims are sometimes the only real asset.
How long does a winding up application take?
In a straightforward matter, roughly six to twelve weeks from serving the statutory demand to the order. That is 21 days for the demand, then several weeks from filing to a hearing date depending on the court’s list. If the company opposes the application or applies to set the demand aside, it takes considerably longer.
Can the company stop the application?
It can try. It can apply to set the statutory demand aside before you file, which would remove the presumption of insolvency. At the hearing it can argue that it is solvent, that the demand was defective, or that the debt is genuinely disputed. Those are the reasons the demand and the application have to be correct from the start.
What does it cost me, and do I get it back?
You fund the demand, the filing, the advertising and the hearing. A petitioning creditor’s costs are generally paid out of the estate ahead of unsecured creditors if an order is made and there is money to pay them. If there is nothing in the company, you will not recover the outlay, which is why we assess the likely return before you start.
What happens after the order is made?
A liquidator takes control of the company, realises its assets, investigates the directors’ conduct and any transactions that can be unwound, and distributes what is left in the statutory order of priority. You lodge a proof of debt to share in any distribution, and the liquidator’s reports tell you how the recovery is tracking.
Is winding up worth it in your case?
Not every unpaid debt justifies the cost of an application. We will look at what the company still holds, who has security over it, and what a liquidator would realistically return to unsecured creditors, then tell you whether to proceed or to stop. That answer is worth having before you spend anything.
You hold a judgment and the company still has your money
The company has stopped responding, ordinary enforcement has produced nothing, and you suspect what assets remain are being dealt with while you wait. You want the pressure a winding up application creates, but not at the price of several thousand dollars spent on an application that gets dismissed on procedure and leaves the company better prepared than it was. What you need before any of it is an honest read on whether there is anything left to recover.
- We will assess what the company still holds and what a liquidator would realistically recover.
- We will tell you whether the cost of the application is justified by the likely return.
- We will prepare and serve a compliant statutory demand to establish the presumption of insolvency.
- We will file, serve and advertise the winding up application and appear at the hearing.
- We will lodge your proof of debt and monitor the liquidator's recoveries afterwards.
Every other avenue has produced nothing
You extended credit to a company that has since stopped answering invoices, failed to turn up to mediation, and left a judgment unsatisfied. Word in the industry is that others are in the same position, and you suspect a few of them were paid ahead of you. The company still appears to have something, but it sits beyond the reach of a writ or a garnishee. What you want now is somebody with actual authority to go in, take control of what is there, and find out what happened to the rest.
What's included in your creditor winding up service
- Company asset and recovery assessment before you commit to the cost.
- Statutory demand preparation and service.
- Winding up application filing, service and advertising.
- Appearance at the winding up hearing.
- Proof of debt lodgement and review of the liquidator's reports.
What a dismissed application costs
Winding up applications fail on procedure far more often than on merits. A statutory demand that did not comply removes the presumption of insolvency and takes the foundation of the application with it. An application that was not advertised in the prescribed manner, or not served on everyone entitled to service, gets struck out at the hearing after you have already paid for all of it.
None of that is recoverable, and the second attempt costs what the first one did. The worse loss is the delay, because delay is exactly what the debtor needs. A company that knows an application is coming has time to move what remains, pay the creditors it cares about, and keep trading through the gap. Creditors who eventually do get an order often find that the assets which would have made it worthwhile were dealt with during the months the first attempt spent failing.
From an unpaid judgment to a liquidator with authority
We start commercially rather than procedurally. What the company still holds, who has security over it, what has moved in the last few years, and what a liquidator would realistically return to unsecured creditors. If the honest answer is nothing, we tell you, and you keep your money.
Where it is worth proceeding, we build the foundation properly. A compliant statutory demand, the 21 days monitored, then the application filed in the right court with its supporting affidavit, served on everyone entitled to service, and advertised exactly as the rules require. We appear at the hearing and seek the order. Once it is made we lodge your proof of debt and keep reading the liquidator’s reports, because the voidable transaction and insolvent trading claims that decide whether you ever see a dividend are usually resolved in the first few months.
How we get you to the order
From an unanswered demand to a liquidator in the chair.Establish the presumption
We assess whether the recovery justifies the cost, then prepare and serve a compliant statutory demand and monitor the 21 days.
Run the application
We file the application in the correct court with its supporting affidavit, attend to service and advertising, and appear at the hearing to seek the order.
Follow the money
We lodge your proof of debt and stay across the liquidator's investigation, including any voidable transaction or insolvent trading recovery.
Winding up applications run by an insolvency-qualified lawyer
Holding a judgment you cannot enforce is a strange kind of loss. You have already won, and winning has not made any difference, which makes the next legal step feel like throwing money after money.
One of our lawyers holds the ARITA Advanced Certificate in Insolvency and is a member of the Australian Restructuring Insolvency and Turnaround Association. We run creditor winding up applications from the first demand through to the order, and then act for the creditor inside the liquidation that follows, which is where the recovery is actually decided. We will also tell you when an application is not worth running, and that piece of advice saves creditors more money than any other.
Our great lawyer guarantee
Six principles we hold to, whatever you bring us and however long it takes.
Take the time
We listen carefully to understand what you want to achieve, then step you through the advice and the documents.
Share our knowledge
We pass on as much as we can, so you can make your own informed decisions.
Stick to our knitting
We only do what we are good at, so you never pay for our learning.
Work as one team
Someone is always available to answer your question or point you the right way.
Fair pricing
A fixed or capped quote for advice and documents, so you do not carry the price risk.
It is your show
We are in it for a front row seat to witness your success, not for our egos.
Find out whether winding up gets you paid
Tell us what you are owed and what you know about the company. We will tell you what a liquidator would realistically recover and whether the application is worth running, and if it is, we will take it from the demand through to the order.
More on this area of law
Read more about winding up applications, liquidation and creditor recovery, and how ADLV Law can help.