Combe and Inspector-General in Bankruptcy

Administrative

Appeals

Tribunal

 

DECISION AND REASONS FOR DECISION [2004] AATA 1324

ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL      )

)          No N2004/347

GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION		)
Re		FAYE DIANE COMBE

Applicant

And INSPECTOR-GENERAL IN BANKRUPTCY

Respondent

DECISION

Tribunal Ms N Bell, Senior Member

Date13 December 2004

PlaceSydney

Decision The decision under review is affirmed.

......................................

Ms N Bell  Senior Member

BANKRUPTCY – Objections to Discharge of Bankruptcy – Failure to Provide Information – Special Ground – Whether Reasons for Failure Reasonable

Bankruptcy Act 1966

REASONS FOR DECISION

13 December 2004 Ms N Bell, Senior Member

1.      Ms Combe was made bankrupt on 15 October 2002.  Mr Scott Pascoe was appointed trustee of the bankrupt estate.  The petitioning creditor was Anthony Ziade, solicitor, whose claim continues to be the subject of dispute by Ms Combe.

2.      In the normal course, Ms Combe would be discharged from bankruptcy on 16 October 2005.  However, in October 2003, the trustee filed three objections to discharge.  The effect of a Notice of Objection is to extend the period of bankruptcy.

3.      Ms Combe applied to the Inspector-General of Bankruptcy to review the decision to file objections and two of the three objections were cancelled by the Inspector-General.  The remaining objection was confirmed by the Inspector-General.  It is that decision by the Inspector-General of bankruptcy that is under review in this application.

4. The objection was made by the trustee on 23 October 2003 on the grounds that Ms Combe failed to provide information pursuant to section 149D(1)(d) of the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (“the Act”).  In particular, the trustee contended that when requested in writing by the trustee to provide written information about her property, income or expected income, Ms Combe failed to comply with the request.

5. Section 149D(1)(d) of the Act includes, as a ground on which a Notice of Objection may be lodged, a failure by the bankrupt, when requested by the trustee in writing, to provide written information about the bankrupt property, income or expected income. Section 149N(1A) designates this ground as a “special ground” and provides that an objection made on a special ground must not be cancelled if there is sufficient evidence to support the existence of at least one special ground specified in the objection and the bankrupt fails to establish that he or she had a reasonable excuse for the conduct or failure that constitutes the special ground.

6.      It is clear that the Notice of Objection lodged by the trustee specifies a special ground.

7.      The issues for me to consider are therefore whether there is evidence to support special ground and whether Ms Combe has a reasonable excuse.

8.      The following facts are not in dispute:

·The trustee wrote to Ms Combe on 22 November 2002 requesting her to provide:

“All documentation (which includes correspondence), in your possession relating to the house property in which you reside. In particular I require the following:

1.    any documents completed, but not lodged, to arrange the transfer of the house property…