Commonwealth Numbered Acts

BANKRUPTCY AMENDMENT ACT 1991 No. 9 of 1992 - SECT 23

23. After section 81 of the Principal Act the following Divisions are
inserted:
          "Division 2 - Offshore information notices
Issue of notices

"81A.(1) If the Official Receiver has reason to believe that:

   (a)  information relevant to the examinable affairs of a bankrupt is:

   (i)  known (whether exclusively or otherwise) by a person outside
        Australia; or

   (ii) recorded (whether exclusively or otherwise) in a book outside
        Australia; or

   (b)  books relevant to the examinable affairs of a bankrupt are outside
        Australia (whether or not copies are in Australia or, if the books are
        copies of other books, whether or not those other books are in
        Australia); the Official Receiver, by written notice (in this Division
        called the `offshore information notice') given to any person, may
        request the person:

   (c)  to give to the Official Receiver, within the period and in the manner
        set out in that notice, any such information; or

   (d)  to produce to the Official Receiver, within the period and in the
        manner set out in that notice, any such books; or

   (e)  to make copies of any such books and to produce to the Official
        Receiver, within the period and in the manner set out in that notice,
        those copies.

"(2) The period set out in the offshore information notice must end 90 days
after the date on which the notice is given. Extension of period of notice

"81B.(1) Upon written application made by the person to whom the offshore
information notice was given within the period set out in that notice, the
Official Receiver, by written notice given to that person, may extend the
period set out in the offshore information notice.

"(2) If:

   (a)  an application under subsection (1) is made before the end of the
        period set out in the offshore information notice; and

   (b)  at the end of the period, the Official Receiver has not notified the
        person of the decision of the Official Receiver on the application;
        the following provisions have effect:

   (c)  the Official Receiver is taken to have extended the period under
        subsection (1) to the end of the day on which the decision of the
        Official Receiver is notified to the person to whom the offshore
        information notice was given;

   (d)  if the Official Receiver decides to extend the period - the extended
        period must end after the day referred to in paragraph (c).

"(3) A reference in this Division (other than subsection (1) of this section)
to the period set out in the offshore information notice is a reference to the
period as extended under that subsection. Variation of notices

"81C.(1) If:

   (a)  an offshore information notice (in this subsection called the `first
        notice') was given to a person; and

   (b)  during the period set out in the first notice (including a period set
        out by virtue of one or more previous applications of this
        subsection), another offshore information notice (in this subsection
        called the `subsequent notice') is given to the person; and

   (c)  the subsequent notice is expressed to be by way of variation of the
        first notice; the following provisions have effect:

   (d)  the request, or each of the requests, set out in the subsequent notice
        is taken, for the purposes of section 81G, to have been set out in the
        first notice;

   (e)  if the period set out in the first notice would, apart from this
        subsection, end before the end of the period set out in the subsequent
        notice - the period set out in the first notice is taken to have been
        extended under subsection 81B(1) to the end of the period set out in
        the subsequent notice.

"(2) The Official Receiver, by written notice given to the person to whom the
offshore information notice was given, may vary the offshore information
notice by:

   (a)  reducing its scope; or

   (b)  correcting a clerical error or obvious mistake; and, if the Official
        Receiver does so, a reference in this Division to the offshore
        information notice is taken to be a reference to that notice as so
        varied. Withdrawal of notices

"81D.(1) The Official Receiver may withdraw an offshore information notice.

"(2) If the Official Receiver withdraws an offshore information notice, the
withdrawal does not prevent the Official Receiver from giving another offshore
information notice in substitution, in whole or in part, for the withdrawn
notice. Notices may be included in same document

"81E. An offshore information notice may be contained in the same document as
a notice under section 77C. Relationship between this Division and section 77C

"81F. Nothing in this Division affects the operation of section 77C and
nothing in section 77C affects the operation of this Division.

"Division 3 - Failure to comply with certain notices Effect of non-compliance
with notice

"81G.(1) In this section:
`relevant proceeding' means a proceeding:

   (a)  for the recovery of an amount payable by a bankrupt under section
        139ZG; or

   (b)  for the recovery of an amount payable by a person under section 139ZL;
        or

   (c)  involving the question whether a transaction is void against the
        trustee under Division 3 of Part VI.

"(2) Subject to subsection (3), where a person refuses or fails to comply with
a request or requirement set out in a notice given to the person under
Division 1 or 2 to give any information or produce any books:

   (a)  if the request or requirement applies to information - the information
        is not admissible in a relevant proceeding; or

   (b)  if the request or requirement applies to books - neither the books,
        nor any secondary evidence of the books, is admissible in a relevant
        proceeding.

"(3) Subsection (2) does not apply to information or a book if the person
proves that:

   (a)  the information or book was not in the possession of the person when
        the notice was given; and

   (b)  there were no reasonable steps that the person could have taken to
        obtain the information or book.

"(4) A notice given to a person under Division 1 or 2 must set out the effect
of subsections (2) and (3).

"(5) A failure to comply with subsection (4) does not affect the validity of
the notice.".