1Short title
This Act may be cited as the Bankruptcy (Estate Charges) Act 1997.
Parliamentary material from APH and the Federal Register of Legislation. Links open the official source in a new tab.
Bill homepage (APH)This Act may be cited as the Bankruptcy (Estate Charges) Act 1997.
Subject to subsection (2), this Act commences on a day to be fixed by Proclamation.
If this Act does not commence within 6 months after the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent, it commences on the first day after the end of that period.
This Act binds the Crown in right of the Commonwealth. However, it does not bind the Crown in right of a State, of the Australian Capital Territory or of the Northern Territory.
In this Act:
charge period means a financial year.
Unless the contrary intention appears, other expressions used in this Act have the same meanings as in the Bankruptcy Act 1966.
An amount of interest to which a person is entitled, in his or her personal capacity, under subsection 185LD(3) of, or subsection 65‑31(1) of Schedule 2 to, the Bankruptcy Act 1966 is payable to the Commonwealth as a charge.
No charge is payable by a person in respect of an account for a charge period if the amount of that charge would be less than $10, or a higher amount prescribed by the regulations.
The charge is payable by the person.
The charge is payable within 35 days after the end of the charge period in which the interest was paid.
A charge, calculated in accordance with sections 7 and 8, is imposed in respect of amounts received by a person (including the Official Trustee) who, during a charge period:
is the trustee of the estate of a bankrupt under the Bankruptcy Act 1966; or
is the trustee of a composition or scheme of arrangement under Division 6 of Part IV of the Bankruptcy Act 1966; or
is the administrator of a debt agreement under Part IX of the Bankruptcy Act 1966; or
is controlling trustee in relation to a debtor whose property has become subject to control under Division 2 of Part X of the Bankruptcy Act 1966; or
is the trustee of a personal insolvency agreement executed in relation to a debtor under Part X of the Bankruptcy Act 1966; or
is the trustee of the estate of a deceased person under Part XI of the Bankruptcy Act 1966.
No charge is payable by a person for a charge period in respect of a particular estate, personal insolvency agreement, composition or debtor (as the case requires) if the amount of that charge would be less than $10, or a higher amount prescribed by the regulations.
The charge is payable by the person to the Commonwealth.
The charge is payable within 35 days after the end of the charge period.
If:
the person receives an amount in respect of a bankrupt’s estate; and
as a result of receiving the amount, the person becomes able to pay off all the bankrupt’s debts;
then the following amounts are not taken into account in determining the amount on which charge is payable:
any excess of the received amount over the amount needed to pay off all the bankrupt’s debts;
any amount later received by the person in respect of the estate.
In this section:
bankrupt’s debts has the same meaning as in subsection 153A(6) of the Bankruptcy Act 1966.
The amount of charge payable for a charge period is the percentage, determined by the Minister by legislative instrument, of the amount on which charge is payable for the period.
The Minister may make a legislative instrument determining the percentage.
The percentage determined must not be more than 15%.
For the purposes of this Part, an amount is treated as received by the person if it is applied or dealt with on behalf of the person, or in accordance with the person’s directions.
The amount on which charge is payable for a charge period is the amount realised less the permitted deductions.
The amount realised is the total amount received by the person in the capacity referred to in subsection 6(1) during the charge period, but not including:
amounts paid to the person by creditors under an indemnity in respect of costs; or
amounts paid to the person under section 305 of the Bankruptcy Act 1966.
The permitted deductions are all amounts paid by the person in the capacity referred to in subsection 6(1) during the charge period that are:
amounts paid by the person in carrying on the business of the bankrupt, deceased person or debtor; or
amounts paid to secured creditors.
Once an amount has been taken into account for the purposes of subsection (2) as an amount received, the whole or part of the amount is not to be taken into account again as an amount received for the purposes of another application of that subsection.
The Governor‑General may make regulations prescribing matters:
required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed; or
necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.