Rowe v Official Trustee in Bankruptcy (No.2)

In *Rowe v Official Trustee in Bankruptcy (No.2)*, the applicant, Mr. Rowe, sought to set aside a sequestration order made against his estate. The respondent was the Official Trustee in Bankruptcy. The dispute concerned the validity of the sequestration order and the applicant's entitlement to have it annulled. The matter was heard in the Federal Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the sequestration order should be annulled under section 153B of the *Bankruptcy Act 1966* (Cth). This required the Court to consider whether the applicant had paid all his debts provable in the bankruptcy, or whether arrangements had been made for their payment, to the satisfaction of the Court. A further issue was whether the applicant had established that it was just and equitable to annul the sequestration order.

Judge Jarrett reasoned that the applicant had failed to demonstrate that all debts provable in the bankruptcy had been paid or that satisfactory arrangements for their payment had been made. The Court noted that the applicant had not provided sufficient evidence to discharge this onus. Furthermore, the Court found that the applicant had not established that it was just and equitable to annul the sequestration order, as the underlying financial difficulties that led to the bankruptcy had not been adequately addressed.

Consequently, the Court dismissed the application to annul the sequestration order.