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Client Service Charter
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Client Service Charter
This charter describes what the Insolvency and Trustee Service Australia (ITSA) does, the standards of service you can expect from us and our expectations of you as a client. It also explains how you can raise a concern or lodge a complaint with us.
This edition of the charter reflects comments received from our clients through our client opinion survey, focus groups and general feedback.
Your comments and suggestions about how we can improve our service are welcome at any time and can be made to charter@itsa.gov.au.
If you require information about or help in relation to any of ITSA’s responsibilities, please phone our Information Service on 1300 364 785.
Veronique Ingram
Chief Executive and Inspector-General in Bankruptcy
Canberra
June 2009
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ITSA is responsible for regulating and administering the personal insolvency system in accordance with the Bankruptcy Act 1966. Our purpose is to provide a personal insolvency system that produces equitable outcomes for debtors and creditors, enjoys public confidence and minimises the impact of financial failure on the community.
The Bankruptcy Act creates the roles of the Inspector-General in Bankruptcy, Official Receivers and the Official Trustee. ITSA performs all of these roles.
ITSA is not responsible for company insolvency law and practice (which is the responsibility of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission).
All ITSA employees must comply with the Australian Public Service Values and Code of Conduct, which require accountability, honesty, integrity and impartiality.
The APS Values and Code of Conduct can be found on the Australian Public Service Commission website at www.apsc.gov.au.
We will help you by:
- treating you professionally, courteously and fairly
- answering questions and providing information by telephone on 1300 364 785
- responding promptly to you
- using plain language when writing and speaking to you
- ensuring the public record on the National Personal Insolvency Index (NPII) is accurate, easily accessible and promptly updated when we receive information
- providing accessible offices and services where possible, including:
– user-friendly website
– interpreter support
– large-print copies of letters and reports on request.
1. |
Debtors – people who owe money and are considering bankruptcy or one of its alternatives, or debtors who are currently using one of the options provided by the Bankruptcy Act.
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Creditors – people or organisations who are owed monies, are contemplating bankruptcy action (such as a bankruptcy notice or creditor’s petition), or are currently involved in an administration, including creditor agents such as mercantile agents.
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3. |
Others – people or organisations who provide information, guidance and other services to debtors and creditors and the community, including registered trustees and registered debt agreement administrators, financial counsellors and insolvency practitioners; and people who want to obtain information on bankruptcy and personal insolvency from the public record. |
We collect, store, use and disclose personal information in accordance with the Bankruptcy Act and Australian privacy law, which provide for the name, date of birth and other prescribed details in all bankruptcies, debt agreement proposals (whether or not the proposal is accepted by creditors) and personal insolvency agreements to be entered on the public record (the NPII).
TO DEBTORS EXPERIENCING FINANCIAL DIFFICULTY
| What you can expect from us |
1. |
We will help you obtain information to enable you to make an informed decision about obtaining relief from your unmanageable debts.
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2. |
We will provide you with information about:
- your available options
- the consequences of entering bankruptcy and other debt-relief options
- what you can and cannot keep if you enter bankruptcy, a personal insolvency agreement or a debt agreement
- what you can and cannot do if you enter bankruptcy, a personal insolvency agreement or debt agreement
- how to contact financial counsellors, registered trustees and registered debt agreement administrators.
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3. |
We will, upon acceptance of your bankruptcy, personal insolvency agreement or debt agreement proposal (regardless of whether or not it is accepted by your creditors):
- enter your name and personal information on the public record (the NPII)
- promptly notify your creditors
- make your relevant information available to credit reference companies for recording on commercial credit reference records, and to other organisations.
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We will act as your trustee or administrator if you have not nominated one, or occasionally we may refer your administration to a registered trustee or administrator to act for you. |
1. |
You will seek financial counselling or advice from other appropriate sources before you lodge your debt agreement proposal or bankruptcy papers with us.
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You will read the prescribed information and other material given to you about the alternatives to bankruptcy, and you will consider bankruptcy only as a last resort.
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You will understand the need for us to balance the sometimes conflicting expectations of the various parties in an administration or bankruptcy.
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You will behave in a polite and courteous manner and not use threatening, offensive or abusive language or behaviour with our staff, even though your circumstances may be distressing.
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5. |
If we are handling your bankruptcy, you will:
- fully and accurately disclose your affairs
- promptly carry out our instructions (e.g. to deliver assets for sale)
- keep us promptly informed during the term of your bankruptcy of:
– any changes to your name, address or day-time telephone number
– any changes in your income or employment
– any gifts, bequests, or other money or assets you receive
- pay to us any assessed income contributions when due.
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You will comply with the obligations and restrictions imposed by law on a bankrupt or debtor. You should understand that breaking these laws may result in extension of your bankruptcy or a criminal prosecution. |
TO CREDITORS WHO ARE OWED MONEY
| What you can expect from us |
1. |
We will ensure that debtors are adequately informed of the alternatives to and consequences of bankruptcy.
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We will ask debtors to consider all of their options, including contacting you to discuss their financial situation before entering into bankruptcy or a debt agreement.
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We will provide you with prompt notification of new bankruptcies and report on issues that are likely to affect you.
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4. |
We will promptly distribute dividends.
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5. |
We will seek input on proposed changes to bankruptcy legislation, practice and forms through consultation with representative bodies at national and local levels. |
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You will carry out your responsibilities and act professionally in your dealings with us, your clients and other professionals in the industry, in accordance with the Bankruptcy Act. This includes attending meetings personally, by telephone or by proxy when required and voting when decisions by creditors are required.
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You will cease action to recover debts covered by bankruptcy, a personal insolvency agreement or a debt agreement and not harass debtors.
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You will inform everyone buying or collecting your debts that they must cease action against and not harass debtors who are protected by provisions of the Bankruptcy Act.
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You will promptly inform us of any relevant changes in your business and contact details.
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If we are the trustee of a bankruptcy, you will:
- provide all information that would assist us to pay a dividend or identify a possible bankruptcy offence or that would help us in our investigation
- lodge accurate claims when requested and provide information to ensure quick payment of dividends
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| Others who assist debtors & creditors |
TO REGISTERED TRUSTEES, REGISTERED DEBT AGREEMENT ADMINISTRATORS, FINANCIAL COUNSELLORS AND OTHERS WHO ASSIST DEBTORS AND CREDITORS
| What you can expect from us |
1. |
We will support the services you provide to creditors, debtors in financial difficulty, bankrupts and others using a formal alternative to bankruptcy by:
- sharing our knowledge and experience with you, your colleagues and employees
- delivering information sessions on bankruptcy law and practice, including summarising amendments to legislation
- promptly providing information on changes to the law and practice, including issues revealed by Bankruptcy Regulation activities.
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We will seek your input on proposed changes to bankruptcy legislation, practice and forms through consultation at national and local levels.
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When undertaking our Bankruptcy Regulation role we will advise you of the details of any allegation and of the outcome of the investigation.
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When performing an inspection of a matter you are administering, we will conduct an exit interview and report the results to the administrator or trustee within two weeks of the interview.
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If we are not satisfied with an administrator’s or trustee’s standards of practice, we will take remedial action which may include action to declare ineligible, deregister or impose conditions on ongoing registration. |
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You will fully and impartially inform people experiencing financial difficulty or contemplating bankruptcy of the options available and consequences to them if they proceed to resolve their difficulties by becoming bankrupt or proposing a personal insolvency agreement or debt agreement.
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You will carry out your responsibilities and act professionally in your dealings with us, your clients and other professionals in the industry, in accordance with the Bankruptcy Act, Bankruptcy Regulations and Inspector-General Practice Directions.
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You will make yourself available for and promptly respond to any reasonable enquiries that we or our clients (debtors, creditors or other service providers) may have.
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You will promptly inform us of any relevant changes in your business and contact details.
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You will provide us with timely information that will help us to:
- identify any issues of public interest
- gather statistics and identify trends
- maintain the accuracy of the public record (the NPII)
- improve our procedures and practices.
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You will inform us as soon as you become aware of a possible bankruptcy offence and provide us with all available supporting evidence.
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You will promptly advise us if you believe an NPII entry is incomplete, inaccurate or misleading.
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You will promptly file documents with us and give us information to update or correct the NPII, when you have a responsibility to do so. |
| Complaints handling procedures |
We are committed to delivering quality service and ask you to contact us if you are dissatisfied with any aspect of our service.
If you wish to complain about ITSA’s level of service
We encourage you to initially contact the ITSA employee you have been dealing with in order to resolve your issue. If you are unable to raise the issue with the person you have been dealing with, or you are not satisfied with their response, ask to speak to that employee’s manager or branch head.
To find out more about lodging a complaint with ITSA, you should ask our staff or refer to our publication ITSA’s complaint handling procedures which is available on our website at www.itsa.gov.au.
If you wish to complain about a trustee or administrator handling an administration
ITSA’s independent Bankruptcy Regulation branch may investigate complaints about the administration of your bankruptcy, personal insolvency agreement or debt agreement.
We encourage you to first try and resolve your concerns with the trustee or administrator. If you are dissatisfied with the way they handle your complaint, or you feel unable to pursue the issue further with them, contact the Bankruptcy Regulation branch through ITSA’s Information Service on 1300 364 785, or email br.qld@itsa.gov.au.
We will promptly advise you whether your complaint will be investigated or whether alternative options are available to you. Should your complaint be investigated you will be regularly informed on progress.
Review and appeal of decisions
The Bankruptcy Act provides for Bankruptcy Regulation branch to independently review some decisions. To find out more about our review procedures refer to our publication Can I appeal?: Review and appeal of trustee and administrator decisions, which is available on our website at www.itsa.gov.au.
We also encourage and welcome positive feedback about our service and employees. You can provide feedback by visiting www.itsa.gov.au and selecting the enquiry/feedback/complaints tab on the home page, you can call us on 1300 364 785, or you can email your feedback to charter@itsa.gov.au.
| SERVICE | STANDARD |
Telephone enquiries
. | Answer 80% of 1300 calls within 20 seconds |
Respond to email and fax requests
. | Reply to 95% within 24 hours |
Issue relevant bankruptcy information
(debtor pack)
. | 95% within 24 hours |
Debtors’ petitions
Declarations of intention
. | Accept/reject within 1 day of receipt of all necessary material |
Notify trustees and administrators of appointment
. | Within 1 day of appointment |
Issue bankruptcy notices
. | Within 1 day of receipt of settled notice |
| Maintain the NPII | All data affecting the NPII entered on day of receipt;
all other data entered within 1 day. |
| Debt agreements | |
- Accept/reject proposal for processing
| Within 1 day of receipt of settled proposal |
- Report to creditors and send proposal for voting
| Within five days of acceptance |
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| At end of 35-day voting period |
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. | Within 5 working days of end of 35-day voting period |
Formally inform bankrupts and debtors
of their rights and obligations
. | Letter within 5 days of acceptance |
Send notification of bankruptcy to
creditors
. | 90% within 5 days, 100% within 10 days |
Send preliminary report to creditors
. | 75% within 6 weeks, 100% within 3 months |
Document searches
. | Within 1 day of availability of registry file |
| Bankruptcy Regulation | |
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| 80% responded to within 14 days of receipt |
- Issues not requiring investigation
| 90% acknowledged within 7 days |
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| 80% of investigative cases finalised within 60 days |
- Reviews of trustee decisions
| Finalised within 60 days |
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. | Complete 90% within 30 days of receipt |
| Bankruptcy Fraud Investigation | |
- Determine whether to investigate
| Within 14 days of receipt of allegation and all necessary supporting documentation |
- Complete all investigations
| 70% within 6 months, 90% within 12 months |
- Refer to Australian Federal Police
or other law enforcement agencies when appropriate
. | Within 28 days of receipt of allegation and all necessary supporting documentation |
A list of ITSA’s service standards is in our Business Plan, which can be found on our website at www.itsa.gov.au.
For all enquiries call 1300 364 785 or visit www.itsa.gov.au or send an email to info@itsa.gov.au
Other ITSA publications can be found at www.itsa.gov.au.
Office hours 8.30am – 5pm
NATIONAL OFFICE
Chief Executive and
Inspector-General
in Bankruptcy
Level 2, AMA Building
42 Macquarie Street
Barton ACT 2600
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ADELAIDE
Level 9, William Grenfell Centre
80 King William Street
Adelaide SA 5000
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BRISBANE
Level 16
340 Adelaide Street
Brisbane QLD 4000 | CANBERRA
Level 2, NFF Building
14-16 Brisbane Avenue
Barton ACT 2600
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HOBART
Level 4, ANZ Centre
22–26 Elizabeth Street
Hobart TAS 7001
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MELBOURNE
Level 16
300 LaTrobe Street
Melbourne VIC 3001 | PERTH
Level 12, Durack Centre
263 Adelaide Terrace
Perth WA 6000
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SYDNEY
Level 4
201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney NSW 2000
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TOWNSVILLE
Level 1, NAB Building
315 Ross RIver Road
Townsville QLD 4814 |
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