Most failed companies entering liquidation in Australia leave creditors with little or nothing, a new ASIC review has found – and the data arrives as insolvency continues to run at elevated levels across the economy.
ASIC published Report 843 on Tuesday, examining 26,664 liquidation appointments between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2025. The regulator said it was the first time it had released this level of detail on the processes.
Most of the companies involved were small and held little by the time they failed. About half of all liquidations realised no more than $10,000 in assets, and around one quarter realised none. Only 5.3% of finalised liquidations paid a dividend to ordinary unsecured creditors, at a…