(1) Subject to this section, adebtor may present to theOfficial Receiver a petition against himself or herself.
(2) A petition presented by adebtor under this section:
(a) shall be in accordance with the approved form; and
(b) shall be accompanied by a statement of thedebtor'saffairs and a copy of that statement.
(2A) The Official Receiver must reject adebtor's petitionunless, at the time when the petition is presented, thedebtor:
(a) was personally present or ordinarily resident in Australia;or
(b) had a dwelling-house or place of business in Australia; or
(c) was carrying on business in Australia, either personally orby means of an agent or manager; or
(d) was amember of a firm or partnership carrying on businessin Australia by means of a partner or partners or of an agent or manager.
(3) The Official Receiver may reject adebtor's petition if:
(a) the petition does not comply substantially with the approvedform; or
(b) the petition is not accompanied by a statement of affairs;or
(c) both:
(i) the Official Receiver hasgiven thedebtor notice undersubsection 57B(3) that the Official Receiver has refused to accept astatement of affairsfiled for the purposes ofparagraph (2)(b) of thissection; and
(ii) an updated statement of affairs has not beenfiled for thepurposes of thatparagraph within the period specified in the notice.
(3AA) The Official Receiver may reject adebtor's petition(thecurrent petition) if:
(aa) the Official Receiver has accepted undersubsection 57B(1) a statement of affairsfiled by thedebtor for the purposes ofparagraph (2)(b) of this section; and
(a) it appears from the information in the statement of affairs(and any additional information supplied by thedebtor) that, if thedebtordid not become abankrupt, thedebtor would be likely (either immediately orwithin a reasonable time) to be able to pay all the debts specified in thestatement of affairs; and
(b) at least one of the following applies:
(i) it appears from the information in the statement of affairs(and any additional information supplied by thedebtor) that thedebtor isunwilling to pay one or more debts to a particular creditor or creditors, oris unwilling to pay creditors in general;
(ii) before the current petition was presented, thedebtorpreviously became abankrupt on adebtor's petition at least 3 times, orat least once in the period of 5 years before presentation of the currentpetition.
(3AB) The Official Receiver is not required to consider in eachcase whether there is a discretion to reject undersubsection (3AA).
(3AC) Thedebtor may apply to the Administrative Review Tribunalfor the review of adecision by the Official Receiver to reject a petitionundersubsection (3AA).
(3A) Before accepting adebtor's petition the OfficialReceiver mustgive thedebtor the information prescribed by the regulations.
(3B) The Official Receiver must refer adebtor's petition tothe Court for a direction to accept or reject it if there is a creditor'spetition pending against a group ofdebtors (whether they are jointdebtors ormembers of a partnership) that includes thedebtor against whom thedebtor's petition is presented.
Example 1: When Anna presents adebtor's petition against herself,there is a creditor's petition pending against Anna and Tim as jointdebtors. The Official Receiver must refer thedebtor's petition to theCourt.
Example 2: When Peter presents adebtor's petition against himself,there are 2 creditor's petitions pending against him alone. The OfficialReceiver is not required to refer thedebtor's petition to the Court,because Peter does not form a group by himself.
(3C) If the Court directs the Official Receiver to accept thedebtor's petition, the Court must specify the time of the commencement ofthebankruptcy that results from acceptance of thedebtor's petition.
(4) The Official Receiver must accept adebtor's petition,unless the Official Receiver rejects it under this section or is directed bythe Court to reject it.
(4A) Where the Official Receiver accepts a petition presentedunder this section:
(a) he or she shall endorse the petition accordingly; and
(b) upon the Official Receiver endorsing the petition, thedebtor who presented the petition becomes abankrupt by force of this sectionand by virtue of presentation of the petition.
(5) If a registeredtrustee is thetrustee of the estate of adebtor who becomes abankrupt under this section, the Official Receiver must:
(a) notify thetrustee of thebankruptcy; and
(b) give thetrustee a copy of the statement of affairs thataccompanied thedebtor's petition.
(5A) Adebtor who is a party (asdebtor) to a debt agreementmust not present adebtor's petition unless the Courtgives thedebtorpermission to do so.
(6) Adebtor who has executed a personal insolvency agreement isnot, except with the leave of the Court, entitled to present a petitionagainst himself or herself unless:
(a) the agreement has been set aside; or
(b) the agreement has been terminated; or
(c) all the obligations that the agreement created have beendischarged.
(6A) Adebtor in relation to whom a stay under a proclaimed lawapplies is not, except with the leave of the Court, entitled to present apetition against himself or herself.
(7) Where a petition is presented by adebtor against himself orherself in contravention ofsubsection (5A), (6) or (6A), thedebtordoes not become abankrupt by virtue of its presentation.
(8) A person who becomes abankrupt by force of this sectioncontinues to be abankrupt until:
(a) he or she is discharged by force ofsubsection 149(1); or
(b) his or herbankruptcy is annulled by force ofsubsection 74(1) or 153A(1) or under section 153B.
(9) A person who states in writing that he or she is a creditorof abankrupt who has become abankrupt by force of this section may withoutfee, and any other person may onpayment of the fee determined by the Ministerby legislative instrument, inspect, personally or by an agent, the statementof affairs that accompanied the petition presented by thebankrupt, and mayobtain a copy of, or take extracts from, the statement.
(10) Abankrupt who has become abankrupt by force of thissection may, without fee and either personally or by an agent:
(a) inspect thebankrupt's statement of affairs; and
(b) obtain a copy of, or make extracts from, thebankrupt'sstatement of affairs.
(11) If the approved form for a statement of affairs indicatesthat particular information in the statement will not be made available to thepublic, then the Official Receiver must ensure that the information is notmade available under this section to any person other than thebankrupt (or anagent of thebankrupt).
(11A) Subsection (11) does not prevent the makingavailable of information as required by law.
(12) The Official Receiver may refuse to allow a person accessunder this section to particular information in abankrupt's statement ofaffairs on the ground that access to that information would jeopardise, or belikely to jeopardise, the safety of any person.
