The Federal Court held that a receiver should be appointed in aid of execution of a judgment debt where the judgment debtor's Australian assets consisted entirely of listed and unlisted securities that could not be conveniently realised through a property (seizure and sale) order under Part 4 of the Civil Judgments Enforcement Act 2004 (WA). The inconvenience arose from multiple factors: the uncertain legal location of the securities across States and Territories requiring potentially duplicative orders; the unsuitability of statutory sale mechanisms (public auction, fair value determination, advertising) for ASX-traded securities; the Sheriff's lack of established mechanisms for brokerage and securities transfers; and the judgment debtor's residence in Hong Kong with no engagement regarding the debt. The Court confirmed that the power to appoint a receiver under s 86 of the Enforcement Act augments, rather than replaces, the Court's general equitable jurisdiction under s 23 of the Federal Court Act, and that the guiding principle is whether appointment is just and convenient in the interests of the proper administration of justice.
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