Deputy Commissioner of Taxation v Debut Developments Pty Ltd

The Federal Court was asked to consider whether it should set aside a winding up order made by a Registrar against Debut Developments Pty Ltd, a company in administration. Neither the director and sole shareholder nor the administrator attended the hearing, despite the Registrar being advised of the company's administration status and that the first creditors’ meeting had occurred. The application to set aside the winding up order was opposed by a major creditor. The central legal issues were whether it was appropriate to make an order under section 482(1) and section 482(3) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) to set aside the winding up order and if it was appropriate to make an order under Order 35 Rule 7(2)(a) of the Federal Court Rules to do so.

The Court determined that making an order under section 482 of the Act was not appropriate as it would not effectively set aside the winding up order. However, it was in the best interest of the creditors to have an opportunity to consider the proposed deed of company arrangement, and thus it was appropriate to make an order setting aside the winding up order pursuant to Order 35 Rule 7(2)(a). The Court concluded that the application should be referred back to the Registrar for further consideration, and detailed costs orders were made in favor of the plaintiff and against the director of the company.