Australian and New Zealand Banking Group v Daher

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (the Bank) sought a sequestration order against the estate of Spiro Georges Daher (Mr Daher) based on his failure to comply with a bankruptcy notice for a judgment debt of $214,985.96. Mr Daher applied for a review of the sequestration order made by the Registrar, arguing that his mother could pay a significant portion of the debt, that the Bank's conduct had delayed this payment, and that the sequestration order should be set aside, at least temporarily, due to issues with his mother's power of attorney. The Federal Circuit Court of Australia was required to determine whether to uphold the sequestration order or grant Mr Daher's application for review.

The court was tasked with determining the grounds on which Mr Daher sought the review of the sequestration order. These grounds included the availability of funds from a third party (his mother) to satisfy the debt, the Bank's alleged role in delaying the availability of these funds, and the legal implications of Mr Daher's bankruptcy on his mother's power of attorney, which he argued prevented the proposed payment. The court also had to consider the principles governing its jurisdiction to review a Registrar's decision, which involves a hearing de novo where the judge must be satisfied of the matters required by section 52 of the *Bankruptcy Act 1966* (Cth) and exercise discretions afresh.

The court dismissed Mr Daher's application for review. It found that the grounds relied upon by Mr Daher were not a sufficient answer to the making of the sequestration order. Specifically, the court noted that the offer of $290,000 from Mr Daher's mother was contingent on the Bank discharging its mortgage over the Newport Property, and that the termination of Mr Daher's authority as attorney under his mother's power of attorney due to his bankruptcy meant that his mother was not in a position to obtain and pay the funds as proposed. The court ordered that Mr Daher pay the Bank's costs, with those costs to be paid out of Mr Daher's estate and have the same priority as the costs of the petition.