White, in the matter of Macro Realty Developments Pty Ltd and Macro Realty Pty Ltd

In the case of White, in the matter of Macro Realty Developments Pty Ltd and Macro Realty Pty Ltd, the applicants, Hayden Leigh White and Tegan Esther Healey, sought orders for the approval of their remuneration as provisional liquidators and liquidators of Macro Realty Developments Pty Ltd (MRD) and Macro Realty Pty Ltd (MR). The applicants were appointed by the Court as liquidators of the Macro Group, a collection of companies involved in property acquisition and development, following an investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) into the Macro Group. The applicants sought approval for their remuneration for services rendered between March 2017 and January 2018.

The legal issues before the court involved the assessment of the reasonableness of the applicants' claimed remuneration under section 473 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and the application of relevant principles in the context of provisional and full liquidations. The court had to determine whether the remuneration sought was reasonable and if convening a creditors' meeting to approve the remuneration was practically possible.

The court found that the applicants had provided detailed accounts and justification for their claimed remuneration, and considered the significant work undertaken, the complexity of the liquidations, and the geographical spread of creditors. The court was satisfied that the remuneration claimed was reasonable and that convening a creditors' meeting would be impractical due to the diverse and extensive nature of the creditors' locations and the associated logistical and financial challenges. The applicants also demonstrated that they had served notice on significant creditors and shareholders, and ASIC neither opposed nor sought to be heard on the application.

Accordingly, the court approved the applicants' remuneration as follows: $122,470.00 (plus GST) for the provisional liquidation of MRD from 14 March 2017 to 30 May 2017, $54,762.50 (plus GST) for the provisional liquidation of MR from 14 March 2017 to 30 May 2017, and $164,047.50 (plus GST) for the liquidation of MRD from 30 May 2017 to 26 January 2018. The court also excused the applicants from complying with certain procedural rules and confirmed the effectiveness of service on relevant parties. The costs of the application were to be costs in the winding up.