Journal article
An Evaluation of Debt Agreements in Australia
Vivien Chen, Lucinda O'Brien, Ian Ramsay
Monash University Law Review | Monash University | Published : 2018
Abstract
This article evaluates the debt agreement system and its impact on Australian debtors, drawing upon three sources of data: statistics published by the Australian Financial Security Authority (‘AFSA’), a survey of individuals who entered into debt agreements or declared bankruptcy between 2010 and 2015, and interviews with a range of industry stakeholders. The article considers the extent to which the debt agreement system is achieving its objectives and ways in which it could be improved. It re-evaluates the role of debt agreements in light of the considerable expansion of financial hardship schemes and EDR in the years since the system’s introduction.
Grants
Awarded by Australian Research Council
Funding Acknowledgements
Vivien Chen is a Lecturer, Department of Business Law and Taxation, Monash Business School, Monash University and former Research Assistant, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne; Lucinda O'Brien is a Research Fellow, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne; Ian Ramsay is the Harold Ford Professor of Commercial Law and Director of the Centre for Corporate Law and Securities Regulation, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne. The authors thank the Statistics team at the Australian Financial Security Authority ('AFSA'), in particular River Paul, for providing the previously unpublished data contained in this article. The authors also thank Dr Malcolm Anderson for carrying out the statistical analysis discussed in Part V and the two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments. This research has been supported by the Australian Research Council Linkage Grant LP130101022. The partners for this Linkage Grant research project are Consumer Action Law Centre ('CALC'), Financial Counselling Australia ('FCA') and Good Shepherd Youth & Family Service.