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BANKRUPTCY AMENDMENT ACT 1985 No. 21 of 1985 - SECT 29

Registration of natural persons as trustees
29. (1) Section 155 of the Principal Act is amended-
(a) by omitting from sub-section (1) "in the prescribed amount and manner" and
substituting "as provided by sub-section (3A)";

   (b)  by omitting sub-sections (2) and (3) and substituting the following
        sub-sections:



"(2) A natural person may make an application to the Court for registration as
a trustee.



"(3) An application under sub-section (2) shall be made in writing as
prescribed and shall contain such information as is prescribed.



"(3A) Subject to this section, where an application is made to the Court under
sub-section (2) and-

   (a)  the applicant-

        (i)    is a member of a prescribed body;

        (ii)   holds a degree, diploma or certificate from a prescribed
               university or another prescribed institution in Australia and
               has passed examinations in such subjects, under whatever name,
               as the appropriate authority of the university or other
               institution certifies to the Court to represent a course of
               study in accountancy of not less than 3 years' duration and in
               commercial law (including company law) of not less than 2
               years' duration; or

        (iii)  has other qualifications that, in the opinion of the Court, are
               equivalent to the qualifications mentioned in sub-paragraph (i)
               or (ii);

   (b)  the applicant is not an insolvent under administration;

   (c)  the applicant resides in Australia; and

   (d)  the Court is satisfied that the applicant is capable of performing the
        duties of a trustee and is otherwise a fit and proper person to be
        registered as a trustee,
the Court may, by order, direct that the applicant be registered as a trustee
upon the applicant's entering into a bond in the amount prescribed for the
purposes of this sub-section and in the prescribed manner with such surety or
sureties as is or are approved by the Registrar.



"(3B) Where a person-

   (a)  has been convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty; and

   (b)  within a period of 5 years after the conviction or, if the person was
        sentenced to imprisonment, after the person's release from prison,
        makes an application under sub-section (2),
the Court shall refuse the application.";

   (c)  by omitting sub-section (5) and substituting the following
        sub-sections:



"(5) A person who is registered under this section is entitled, upon request
and upon payment of the prescribed fee, to be issued with a certificate of
registration.



"(5A) Where an amount prescribed for the purposes of sub-section (3A) (in this
sub-section referred to as the 'relevant amount') exceeds the amount of the
bond that was previously entered into (whether before or after the
commencement of this sub-section) by a trustee under a provision of this
section, being a bond that is in force on the day on which the provision
prescribing the relevant amount comes into operation, the trustee shall,
within 3 months after that day, enter into a bond in the relevant amount and
in the prescribed manner with such surety or sureties as is or are approved by
the Registrar.



"(5B) Except where sub-section (5C) applies, the Court may, at any time, upon
the application of the Registrar or any other person, or of its own motion,
suspend for a specified period or cancel the registration of a person as a
trustee under this section.



"(5C) The Court may, if it is satisfied, upon the application of the
Registrar, that a person registered under this section has failed to comply
with sub-section (5A) of this section or section 161A, by order, suspend for a
specified period or cancel the registration of that person as a trustee.";
(d) by inserting in sub-section (6) "natural" before "person" (second
occurring); and

   (e)  by adding at the end the following sub-section:



"(8) In this section, 'insolvent under administration' means a person-

   (a)  who is, under this Act or the law of an external Territory, a bankrupt
        in respect of a bankruptcy from which the person has not been
        discharged;

   (b)  who has, under the law of a country other than Australia or the law of
        an external Territory, the status of an undischarged bankrupt; or

   (c)  whose property is subject to control under Division 2 of Part X by
        reason of an authority given by the person under section 188,
and includes-

   (d)  a person who has executed a deed of arrangement under Part X or the
        corresponding provisions of the law of an external Territory or of the
        law of a country other than Australia where the terms of the deed have
        not been fully complied with; and

   (e)  a person whose creditors have accepted a composition under Part X or
        the corresponding provisions of the law of an external Territory or of
        the law of a country other than Australia where a final payment has
        not been made under that composition.".

(2) Notwithstanding the amendments of section 155 of the Principal Act made by
paragraph (1) (b) of this section, the provisions of that section of the
Principal Act continue to apply, after the commencement of this section, in
relation to an application for registration as a trustee made before the
commencement of this section and not determined by the Court before that
commencement, until such time as that application is determined or withdrawn,
as if those amendments had not been made.

(3) The registration of a person as a trustee under section 155 of the
Principal Act that was in force immediately before the commencement of this
section continues in force after that commencement as if the person had been
registered as a trustee under section 155 of the Principal Act as amended by
this Act. 


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