What Is an Insolvency Practitioner? Why Thyge Trafford-Jones Is Both a Liquidator and a Bankruptcy Trustee
An insolvency practitioner in Australia is a professional registered to handle formal insolvency processes. There are two separate registrations: a registered liquidator, who deals with companies under the Corporations Act 2001, and a registered bankruptcy trustee, who deals with individuals under the Bankruptcy Act 1966.
Thyge Trafford-Jones, principal of TTJ Advisory, has more than 25 years' insolvency experience and holds both registrations.
That matters because financial trouble rarely stays in one box. A company that cannot pay its debts often has a director with personal guarantees, personal tax debt or both. Understanding which rules apply to which debt is the first step towards the right solution.
What is an insolvency practitioner?
An insolvency practitioner is a professional registered by a government regulator to administer formal insolvency processes for companies, individuals or both.
Registered liquidator | Registered bankruptcy trustee | |
Deals with | Companies | Individuals, including sole traders |
Legislation | Corporations Act 2001 | Bankruptcy Act 1966 |
Regulator | ASIC | AFSA, on behalf of the Inspector-General in Bankruptcy |
Formal processes | Liquidation, voluntary administration, Small Business Restructuring | Bankruptcy, personal insolvency agreements |
Number registered | 667 (ASIC register, 31 July 2026) | 211 (AFSA register, September 2026) |
A liquidator cannot administer a personal bankruptcy or a personal insolvency agreement unless they are also a registered trustee. A bankruptcy trustee cannot liquidate a company unless they are also a registered liquidator.
Why do most insolvency practitioners hold only one registration?
Each registration is a separate application, assessed by a separate committee, with its own ongoing requirements, so most practitioners specialise in one.
Separate applications. A liquidator applies to ASIC. A trustee applies to the Inspector-General in Bankruptcy.
Separate assessment. Each application is assessed by its own committee, which includes the regulator and an experienced practitioner.
Separate renewal. Each registration generally runs for three years and must be renewed independently.
Separate obligations. Each carries its own continuing education, insurance and conduct requirements.
There is no combined registration. A practitioner who works across both regimes has met both sets of requirements and keeps meeting them.
That matters most for company directors. When a company's debts become a director's personal problem, through a personal guarantee or unpaid company tax, a practitioner registered only as a liquidator cannot act on the personal side.
Whose debt is it? Why the answer changes everything
The right starting point is working out who owes the debt, because that decides which laws apply and which options are available.
Financial trouble looks different for everyone. You might be struggling with personal debts. You might run a business that cannot pay its bills. Or you might be a company director worried about both.
Individuals and sole traders. A sole trader's business debts are personal debts. As a registered bankruptcy trustee, Thyge can assess personal insolvency options, including a personal insolvency agreement or bankruptcy.
Companies. A company's debts belong to the company. As a registered liquidator, Thyge can assess a company's position and, where appointed, administer a liquidation or restructure.
Company directors. Both the company's debts and any personal liabilities need attention. A personal guarantee, for example, may remain enforceable against the director even after the company enters liquidation.
What holding both registrations means for you
It means the person you speak to first can identify which regime each part of the problem falls under, and can act on whichever side is appropriate.
A complete picture at the first conversation. Thyge can explain, at a general level, which of your debts sit with the company and which sit with you personally, and which rules apply to each. That early diagnosis is where the most expensive mistakes are made or avoided.
No wasted first meeting. Whether the right process turns out to be corporate or personal, you are speaking with someone registered for it. You are not referred on simply because the practitioner holds the wrong registration.
An understanding of how the two sides interact. A decision about the company can change a director's personal position. Examples include how a liquidation affects personal guarantees, a director's loan account, or unpaid company tax that can become a personal liability.
Experience across both regimes. Working as both a liquidator and a trustee builds experience of how company and personal insolvency play out in practice, for directors, sole traders and creditors.
What it does not mean
Holding both registrations does not mean one practitioner acts on both sides of the same matter.
Where a company and its director both need a formal process, Australia's professional standards generally require those roles to be kept separate. A liquidator's job can include examining the director's conduct and recovering money the director may owe the company. That same person cannot then be relied on to act independently in the director's personal insolvency.
So those appointments must be assessed for independence, and a separate practitioner may need to handle one side. When that happens, Thyge will tell you early, explain why, and make sure the other side goes to an independent practitioner.
The benefit of dual registration is not doing everything. It is knowing exactly what needs to be done, by whom, and in what order.
Same business, two structures: a worked example
This is a fictional example. Daniel is not a TTJ Advisory client. His circumstances and figures were created to explain how the two registrations apply. TTJ Advisory keeps all client matters strictly confidential and does not publish details of real cases.
Daniel, 32, ran a small removalist business. A run of slow months and late customer payments led to debts of $180,000.
Debt | Amount |
Credit cards | $64,000 |
Unsecured personal loan | $52,000 |
Rent owed from a former tenancy | $14,000 |
Tax debt | $50,000 |
Total | $180,000 |
If Daniel traded as a sole trader. Every one of those debts is Daniel's personally, so the Bankruptcy Act applies. This is the bankruptcy trustee's side. Daniel could not repay $180,000 in full. His income could support $2,000 a month for 30 months, and his family could contribute $30,000 towards an agreement. Those family funds would not be available to creditors in bankruptcy.
Together, that put $90,000 into a personal insolvency agreement before trustee costs, more than creditors were expected to receive in bankruptcy. A controlling trustee checked his finances and reported to creditors, and in this example creditors accepted the proposal. Once Daniel completed the agreement, he was released from the provable debts it covered.
If Daniel ran the business through a company. The same $180,000 splits in two:
Business debts in the company's name are the company's. Depending on whether the business is viable, the options may include Small Business Restructuring or liquidation. This is the liquidator's side.
Any debt Daniel personally guaranteed, and any company tax that has become his personal liability, stays with Daniel whatever happens to the company. This is the trustee's side.
A practitioner registered only as a liquidator could address the company, but not Daniel's personal exposure. A practitioner registered only as a trustee could address Daniel, but not the company. Holding both registrations means Daniel hears about both halves at the first conversation, which process each may need, and whether one side should go to an independent practitioner.
How to check an insolvency practitioner's registration
Both registers are public, and it is worth checking any practitioner before you engage them.
Registered liquidators: search ASIC's professional registers.
Registered trustees: search AFSA's register of trustees.
Thyge Trafford-Jones appears on both: ASIC registered liquidator No. 458321 and AFSA registered trustee No. 1582.
For accountants and advisers
When a client is under financial pressure, the first question is not which process to use. It is whose debt you are dealing with. Company liabilities, personal guarantees and an individual's own debts can sit alongside one another, and addressing one does not necessarily resolve the others.
You don't need to determine the process before making a referral. Bring Thyge the circumstances. At the first conversation he can help establish where the liabilities sit, which processes may apply to each, and whether a connected matter needs a separate independent practitioner for one side. Your client gets a clear next step, and you stay involved as their trusted adviser.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a liquidator and a bankruptcy trustee?
A liquidator deals with companies under the Corporations Act 2001 and is registered by ASIC. A bankruptcy trustee deals with individuals under the Bankruptcy Act 1966 and is registered with AFSA. They are separate registrations with separate requirements.
Can a liquidator handle a personal bankruptcy?
Only if they are also a registered trustee. Personal bankruptcies and personal insolvency agreements are administered by registered trustees or the Official Trustee.
Does liquidating a company clear the director's personal guarantees?
No. A personal guarantee is the director's own obligation. A creditor may still pursue the director under the guarantee after the company is liquidated.
Can the same practitioner be liquidator of a company and trustee of its director?
Generally, no. Professional standards treat this as a serious independence risk. Industry guidance recommends court approval before accepting both appointments, and AFSA expects trustees to decline such appointments wherever possible.
What is an insolvency practitioner in Australia?
An insolvency practitioner is a registered liquidator, a registered bankruptcy trustee, or both. They administer formal insolvency processes and must meet ongoing regulatory requirements to stay registered.
When should I speak to an insolvency practitioner?
As soon as debts can no longer be paid as they fall due, or when you receive a statutory demand, bankruptcy notice or Director Penalty Notice. The earlier the position is assessed, the more options are generally available.
Key takeaways
An insolvency practitioner is a registered liquidator, a registered bankruptcy trustee, or both.
The two registrations cover different debts, under different Acts, with different regulators.
Thyge Trafford-Jones holds both registrations and has more than 25 years' insolvency experience.
Holding both allows a clear first view of which regime applies to the company's debts and which applies to the director's.
Independence rules mean company and personal appointments on the same matter are generally kept separate.
Both registers are public, and any practitioner can be checked.
Next steps
Whether the concern is yours, your business's or both, the first step is understanding where you stand. An initial confidential discussion with TTJ Advisory can help clarify whose debt it is, which rules apply and which processes may apply.
About the author Thyge Trafford-Jones is the principal of TTJ Advisory, with more than 25 years' insolvency experience. He is a registered liquidator (ASIC No. 458321) and a registered bankruptcy trustee (AFSA No. 1582). He works with individuals, sole traders, companies and company directors, and with the accountants and lawyers who advise them.
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