Hi there,

In Australia, when a company becomes insolvent, it is generally placed into liquidation (as opposed to bankruptcy, which applies to individuals). Upon the completion of the liquidation, which can take years as there is no statutory timeframe, the company is deregistered with ASIC. It cannot start fresh after liquidation. With that said, an alternative to liquidation is to appoint voluntary administrators. The function of this form of insolvency appointment is to enable the directors (or anyone for that matter) to present a deed of company arrangement (DOCA). This is effectively a formal arrangement with creditors to pay them a percentage of their debts in exchange for the return of the company.