Bankruptcy Advice Australia

How long will I be bankrupt?

A bankrupt will ordinarily be automatically discharged from bankruptcy after 3 years from filing a statement of affairs with ITSA (Section 149 of the Bankruptcy Act). This principle stands unless the Trustee in Bankruptcy files an objection to discharge in accordance with Section 149B of the Bankruptcy Act.

A Trustee in Bankruptcy may file an objection to automatic discharge and if that objection if accepted by ITSA, the bankruptcy can be extended up to 5 years in total or in extreme cases up to 8 years in total.
Therefore if you have been made bankrupt by a creditors’ petition you must a Statement of Affairs before the standard bankruptcy term of 3 years commences. If you do not file a Statement of Affairs with ITSA you could be bankrupt indefinitely.

Objection to bankruptcy discharge

A Trustee in Bankruptcy can file an objection to discharge if the bankrupt has not complied with their obligations under the Bankruptcy Act.

The bankruptcy term can be extended from the standard 3 year up to 5 years (in total) or up 8 years (in total), depending on the level of non-compliance.

To learn how a bankruptcy term can be extended up to 5 years

To learn how a bankruptcy term can be extended up to 8 years