Background
Narang Bir-Rong Aboriginal Corporation provided out-of-home care and family-preservation services for Aboriginal children and families in New South Wales. After complaints, the NSW Office of the Children’s Guardian cancelled the corporation’s accreditation on 2 June 2026. The NSW Department of Communities and Justice then terminated its funding agreements, and the corporation’s operations effectively ceased.
At the board chairperson’s request, the Registrar of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporations placed the corporation under special administration from 9 June 2026. The joint special administrators wound down its operations, terminated employees, realised assets where possible, and assessed liabilities. They estimated realisable assets at about $1.38 million, unsecured creditor claims at about $2.55 million, and a shortfall of about $1.71 million after priority employee entitlements and estimated special-administration costs.
The Court’s Holding
Justice Wigney held that the corporation was insolvent because it could not pay its debts as they fell due. It had ceased operations, had no ongoing revenue source, and its liabilities materially exceeded its realisable assets.
The Court ordered the corporation wound up under s 526-1 of the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cth). It dispensed with service of the winding-up application on the corporation, appointed the special administrators, Jack James and Paula Smith, as joint and several liquidators, and ordered their application costs to be paid from the corporation’s assets on an indemnity basis.
Key Takeaways
- A special administrator may apply to wind up an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporation that is under special administration.
- Loss of accreditation and government funding, cessation of operations, and a substantial asset-to-liability shortfall supported the insolvency finding.
- The Court may dispense with service requirements where the corporation is already in special administration and the circumstances warrant it.
Why It Matters
The decision shows the transition from special administration to liquidation under the CATSI Act where a corporation’s business has ceased and there is no realistic prospect of meeting creditor claims. It also confirms that the Federal Court may apply modified Corporations Act winding-up procedures in CATSI Act proceedings.