Section 447A(1) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) confers power to validate a defective appointment of administrators under s 436C where the statutory precondition (charge over the whole or substantially the whole of the company's property) was not met. A charge over approximately 68% of a company's assets, which excludes a substantial identified asset, is not a charge over 'substantially the whole' of the company's property for the purposes of s 436C(1). When exercising the discretion to validate, the court will consider the likelihood that administrators would have been appointed in any event, consistency with the objects of Part 5.3A, equal treatment of creditors, and whether accrued rights of third parties create insuperable discretionary obstacles.
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