The Senate Economics Reference Committee found the country's corporate regulator to be overburdened.

After an 18-month inquiry into the regulation, registration, and remuneration of the insolvency industry, the senate committee recommended for the Australian Securities and Investments commission (ASIC) to be relieved of its responsibilities on insolvency practitioners.

The senate report also recommends the duties to be transferred to the Insolvency and Trustee Service Australia (ITSA). The rival government agency will take command of handling both corporate insolvencies and personal bankruptcies.

The unloading is one of 17 recommendations proposed by the senate committee in a 190-page report. The senate emphasized in the report “that corporate insolvency in Australia needs more priority and prominence in the regulatory framework.”

Furthermore, the senate committee noted that oversight of insolvency practitioners was one of 13 key responsibilities handled by ASIC, and none of the six strategic priorities outlined in its latest annual report was related to corporate insolvency.

During a senate hearing in June, ASIC chairman Tony D'Aloisio insisted “that by separating . . . you will (not) get improved results, because improved results are going to go with the expertise that is needed to handle complex groups and investigations.”

The ITSA will be renamed the Australian Insolvency Practitioners Authority. ITSA president Mark Robinson said, “To be frank, the devil will be in the detail.”