Insolvency: The Regular Payment of Debts (ALRC 6), Debt Recovery and Insolvency (ALRC 36) and
General Insolvency Inquiry (ALRC 45)
The Australian Law Reform Commission received a reference to inquire into bankruptcy laws as it applied to small debtors in May 1976.
A working paper was distributed later that same year and the final report, Insolvency: The Regular Payment of Debts (ALRC 6), was tabled in federal Parliament in November 1977.
During work on this reference, the ALRC identified that judgment debt recovery procedures could contribute to worsening insolvency and so, under the same terms of reference received in 1976, conducted a more detailed inquiry on that particular issue.
A Discussion Paper, Debt Recovery and Insolvency (DP 6) was released in 1978, and a final report with the same title (ALRC 36) was tabled in federal Parliament on 21 October 1987.
In ALRC 6 the Commission recommended that the entire law of bankruptcy be reviewed. Terms of reference to undertake this review were received on 20 November 1983 and the Commission released an Issues Paper (IP 6) and Discussion Paper (DP 32), both titled General Insolvency Inquiry, in 1985 and 1987 respectively.
The final report, General Insolvency Inquiry (ALRC 45), consisting of two volumes plus a summary, is often referred to as the Harmer Report, after the Commissioner in charge of the inquiry, Mr Ron Harmer. It was tabled in federal Parliament on 13 December 1988.
There has been substantial implementation of the recommendations in ALRC 6 and ALRC 45, and partial implementation of the recommendations of ALRC 36.