Kassem v Milman International (Aust) Pty Ltd

HIS HONOUR : This is an application by an administrator to extend for three weeks the convening period of the second meeting under the Corporations Act. The application is made under s 439A(6) of the Corporations Act 2001. That Act, in many respects, imposes unreal burdens on administrators in getting ready on time, but as the Parliament has spoken, so the courts must respect the spirit of the Act.

Applications to extend the convening period are not automatically granted. First of all, the court must be satisfied that the administrator has, in the circumstances, done all that could be done, taking into account the economics of the situation. However, the evidence must then go further and demonstrate that if an extension is to be granted then within the period proposed for the extension the situation is more likely than not to be clearer than it is at the time when the meeting should otherwise be convened.

It is not enough to just make general assertions that the administrator has done a lot of hard work. The work done should be specified and it also should be noted what improvements are likely to happen in the extended period.

The evidence now satisfies both of those criteria and I make orders 1 and 2 in the originating process.