Marsden, in the matter of Empire Consortium Group Pty Ltd (in liq) v Nationwide Plant Hire Pty Ltd [2026] FCA 911 — Corporations & Claims Dismissed — Barrister AI
Marsden, in the matter of Empire Consortium Group Pty Ltd (in liq) v Nationwide Plant Hire Pty Ltd
Claim by liquidators for recovery of alleged debt owed by related company
where sole director of relevant companies now deceased
where intercompany loan recorded in an accounting ledger
Quick Take
1Where a company's books record a nil intercompany loan balance and are admitted under s 1305 of the Corporations Act as prima facie evidence, the party seeking to disturb that balance bears the onus of proving on the balance of probabilities that specific entries do not reflect genuine transactions; it is impermissible to invert the inquiry by excising all entries not independently corroborated by bank statements or third-party records.
2Suspicion as to the legitimacy of ledger entries — even entries made by a sole director of related companies during insolvency that precisely zero out an intercompany balance — is insufficient to displace the s 1305 presumption where the challenging party has not adduced evidence positively establishing the entries are illegitimate and has not pursued available sources of evidence (such as source documents attached to accounting records) within its own control.
3A Jones v Dunkel inference against the opposing party cannot fill an evidentiary gap created by the party bearing the onus of proof making a forensic choice to present a slim case, particularly where further evidence was available to that party and was not pursued.
