Bankruptcy Act. Australia
D
Procedure at meetings
64K Opening of meeting [see Table B]
(1) The trustee is to preside at the meeting until a person is appointed to preside under section 64P.
(2) The trustee must open the meeting and introduce himself or herself and, if the bankrupt is present, introduce the bankrupt.
(3) If the bankrupt is not present, the trustee must announce that fact and, if the trustee is aware of any reason why the bankrupt is not present, must state that reason.
(4) The trustee must circulate the attendance record prepared in accordance with section 64J among the creditors, and creditors’ proxies and attorneys, participating in person and must ask them to enter in that record the relevant particulars, as required by the attendance record, of:
(a) the creditors who, or whose proxies and attorneys, are so participating in person; and
(b) those proxies and attorneys; and
(c) the debts of those creditors.
(5) The trustee must enter in the attendance record the relevant particulars, as required by the attendance record, of:
(a) creditors who, or whose proxies or attorneys, are participating in the meeting by telephone; and
(b) those proxies and attorneys; and
(c) the debts of those creditors.
(6) The trustee must state in the attendance record whether or not the bankrupt is present and, if the bankrupt is not present and the trustee is aware of any reason why the bankrupt is not present, must set out that reason.
64L Appointment of minutes secretary [see Table B]
(1) The trustee must then:
(a) invite the creditors and their representatives to propose a motion appointing a person to record the minutes of the meeting; or
(b) if no such motion is passed — appoint a person to record those minutes.
(2) Anyone participating in person in the meeting, whether or not a creditor or a proxy or attorney of a creditor, and including the trustee but not including the bankrupt, is eligible for appointment as the minutes secretary.
(3) If a person appointed to record the minutes of a meeting subsequently refuses, or is unable, to record, or to continue to record, those minutes, subsections (1) and (2) apply for the purpose of appointing another person to record the minutes.
64M Announcement of proxies and attorneys
(1) The trustee must then announce:
(a) the names of the creditors who are not participating in person or by telephone but whose proxies or attorneys are participating in person or by telephone; and
(b) the names of the proxies and attorneys.
Note: Under subsection 64ZB(3), a proxy or attorney may be allowed to vote even though the appointing instrument is lodged after the announcement.
(2) The trustee must then circulate the instruments appointing proxies, and the powers of attorney or copies of the powers of attorney, for inspection by persons present at the meeting.
64N Quorum
(1) The trustee must then determine whether a quorum is present.
(2) A quorum is constituted by:
(a) the presence in person of the trustee (or the trustee’s representative); and
(b) a creditor, or a proxy or attorney of a creditor, participating in person or by telephone.
Note: A meeting requires at least 2 persons. Therefore the person covered by paragraph (2) (a) cannot also be the proxy or attorney of the creditor covered by paragraph (2) (b).
(3) If a quorum is not present within 30 minutes after the time fixed for the meeting, the meeting is adjourned to a time, date and place fixed by the trustee.
(4) The date of the adjourned meeting must be not earlier than 7 days nor later than 14 days from the date of the original meeting.
(5) The time and place of the adjourned meeting need not be the same as the time and place of the original meeting.
(6) The following provisions of this Division apply to any meeting at which a quorum is present within 30 minutes after the time fixed for that meeting.
(7) To remove any doubt, but without limiting by implication the application of subsection 63B(2) to other references in this Division to the trustee, the reference in subparagraph (2) (a) (ii) of this section to the presence in person of the trustee includes a reference to the presence in person of a person appointed under subsection 63B(1) to represent the trustee.
64P Election of person to preside at meeting [see Table B]
(1) The trustee must:
(a) invite the creditors and their representatives to nominate a person for election to preside at the meeting; or
(b) if no person is so nominated — nominate a person for election to preside at the meeting.
(2) Anyone participating in person in the meeting, whether or not a creditor or a proxy or attorney of a creditor, and including the trustee but not including the bankrupt, is eligible to be nominated for appointment, and may be elected, to preside at the meeting.
(3) If only one person is nominated, that person is taken to be elected to preside at the meeting.
(4) If 2 or more persons are nominated, an election is to be held to determine which of the persons nominated is to preside at the meeting and the person who receives the greatest number of votes (whether or not a majority of the votes cast) is taken to be elected to preside at the meeting.
(5) Subject to subsection (6), voting at the election is to be on the voices.
(6) If the trustee is unable to determine which of the persons nominated received the greatest number of the votes on the voices, the trustee must ask each creditor, and each proxy or attorney, participating in person or by telephone to state for which nominee the creditor, proxy or attorney is casting a vote or whether the creditor, proxy or attorney is abstaining from casting a vote.
(7) If 2 or more persons each receive the greatest number of votes, the trustee must decide by lot which of those persons is to be chosen to preside at the meeting, and the person so chosen is taken to be elected to preside at the meeting.
(8) A person elected under this section to preside at the meeting is to preside at all times after he or she is elected.
(9) If a person so elected subsequently refuses, or is unable, to preside, or to continue to preside, at the meeting, the preceding provisions of this section apply for the purpose of electing another person to preside at the meeting.
64Q Whether holding of meeting is convenient to majority of creditors
(1) As soon as the President is elected, he or she must invite the creditors and their representatives to propose a motion that the meeting is being held at a time, date and place that are convenient to a majority of creditors.
(2) If no such motion is proposed, or such a motion is proposed but is not passed, the meeting is adjourned to such time, date and place as the meeting resolves.
64R Tabling of bankrupt’s statement of affairs [see Table B]
(1) If the meeting is the first meeting, the President must then request the trustee to lay the bankrupt’s statement of affairs before the meeting and the trustee must comply with the request.
(2) If any of the creditors and their representatives requests that a creditor be given a copy of the statement of affairs, the trustee must comply with the request as soon as reasonably practicable.
64S Statements and questions [see Table B]