Our Purpose
Roughly speaking, every business that ever started either is still running or has stopped. Businesses close every week in Australia — some wind down quietly, some fail suddenly, and many sit somewhere in between. Yet the information available to owners and directors at exactly the moment they need it most is often fragmented, technical, or buried in legislation.
Failure.com.au exists to explain, in plain English, what actually happens when a business gets into trouble in Australia: what liquidation, voluntary administration, and receivership involve; what directors are responsible for; how to close a business properly; and — just as importantly — what happens next and how people rebuild.
Our Values
Non-Judgmental
Business failure is common, and it is rarely the result of laziness or bad character. Economic conditions, cash flow timing, illness, the loss of a key customer, and plain bad luck end businesses run by capable, hard-working people. We write about failure as something to be understood and worked through, not as a source of shame.
Factual and Careful
Insolvency is a legal and technical area, and getting it wrong has real consequences. We base our guides on publicly available information from official sources, particularly the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA), and we avoid invented statistics and scare tactics. Where the law draws important distinctions — for example, between company liquidation and personal bankruptcy — we draw them too.
Constructive
Our focus is "what happens next". Alongside explanations of formal insolvency processes, we cover warning signs, options for getting help early, how to close a solvent business cleanly, and the practical and personal side of starting again.
What We Cover
- Insolvency and liquidation — what happens when a company goes into liquidation, who the liquidator is, and what it means for directors, employees, and creditors.
- Voluntary administration and receivership — how the formal insolvency processes differ and when each is used.
- Director duties — responsibilities when a company is struggling, including insolvent trading, director penalty notices, and safe harbour protections.
- Closing a business properly — voluntary deregistration and winding down a solvent business the right way.
- Why businesses fail — common patterns and the warning signs that give owners time to act.
- Starting again — bankruptcy versus liquidation, rebuilding credit and confidence, and looking after your wellbeing.
What This Site Is Not
This site provides general information only. It is not legal advice, financial advice, or insolvency advice, and nothing here takes your specific circumstances into account. We are not lawyers, registered liquidators, or financial counsellors, and reading this site is not a substitute for speaking to one.
If your business is in financial difficulty, the single most useful thing you can do is get professional advice early — from a qualified accountant, a solicitor, or a registered insolvency practitioner. Free, confidential, independent financial counselling for small business owners is available from the Small Business Debt Helpline on 1800 413 828.
Sources
Our guides draw on official public information, including ASIC (asic.gov.au) for companies and corporate insolvency, AFSA (afsa.gov.au) for personal bankruptcy and debt agreements, business.gov.au for closing and exiting a business, and the ATO (ato.gov.au) for tax obligations and director penalty notices. Those sites are always the authoritative source; where our summaries and the official material differ, rely on the official material.