Image
On this page
Many of the dollar amounts in bankruptcy law are indexed. This means they regularly change to keep up with the Consumer Price Index or the base pension rate.
The tables below show the current amounts and which parts of the law they relate to. Full details of how and when they apply are in the Bankruptcy Act and Regulations.
Download indexed amounts:
Indexed amounts in bankruptcy law—updated 31 January 2024
Part IX debt agreement eligibility
Maximum debts, assets and income.
Amounts updated 20 March and 20 September.
| Limit, threshold or payment | Amount | Bankruptcy Act & Regulations |
|---|---|---|
| Debts: You can’t propose a debt agreement if your unsecured debts add up to more than this limit. | $137,537.40 | s185C(4)(b) & (5) |
|
Property: You can’t propose a debt agreement if your divisible property adds up to more than this limit. Divisible property is property that could be sold by your trustee if you were bankrupt. |
$275,074.80 | s185C(4) (c) & (5) |
| Income: You can’t propose a debt agreement if your after-tax income for the year is over this limit. | $103,153.05 | s185C(4)(d) & (5) |
Protected property
Protected property — assets a bankrupt person can keep.
Amounts updated each financial year.
| Limit, threshold or payment | Amount | Bankruptcy Act & Regulations |
|---|---|---|
| Tools: Up to this total value, you can keep property used to earn income by physical exertion (tools of trade). | $4,200 | s116(2)(c)(i) r29 |
|
Vehicles: You can keep cars or motorbikes you use mainly for transport worth up to this amount. If you haven’t paid off the vehicle, the amount that counts towards the limit is its value minus what you still owe. |
$9,100 | s116(2)(ca) r30 |
Credit limit
Amount of credit etc. you can get without telling the lender about your bankruptcy or debt agreement.
Amounts updated quarterly.
| Limit, threshold or payment | Amount | Bankruptcy Act & Regulations |
|---|---|---|
|
Above this limit, you must disclose that you’re bankrupt or in a debt agreement before you can:
|
$6,893 | s269(1)(a), (aa), (ab), (ac), (ad) s304A(1)(j) |
|
Warning It is a criminal offence if you are bankrupt or subject to a debt agreement to obtain or attempt to obtain credit in certain circumstances. Severe penalties apply to these offences. |
||
| The trustee can lodge an objection if you are bankrupt and engage in misleading conduct relating to amounts that are, or add up to, more than the limit. | $6,893 | s149D(1)(c) and s304A(1)(g) |
Income contributions
Income contributions from the bankrupt person.
Amounts updated 20 March and 20 September.
| Limit, threshold or payment | Amount | Bankruptcy Act & Regulations |
|---|---|---|
| Base Income Threshold Amount (BITA) | $68,768.70 (after tax) | s139K |
|
Actual Income Threshold Amount (AITA)
|
(all amounts after tax) | s139K |
| Number of dependants | Income | s139K |
| 0 | $68,768.70 | s139K |
| 1 | $81,147.07 | s139K |
| 2 | $87,336.25 | s139K |
| 3 | $90,774.68 | s139K |
| 4 | $92,150.06 | s139K |
| more than 4 | $93,525.43 | s139K |
Dependants
How much someone can earn and still be a dependant (used when calculating income contributions).
Amounts updated each financial year.
| Limit, threshold or payment | Amount | Bankruptcy Act & Regulations |
|---|---|---|
| A person who resides with you and who depends on you for economic support can earn income up to this limit during the income contribution assessment period and still count as your dependant. | $4,253 | s139K and r36 |
Other amounts
Trustee remuneration – the amount a registered trustee can take from an estate (includes a bankruptcy; a personal insolvency agreement; or a controlling trustee authority) unless creditors, a committee of inspection or the Inspector-General in Bankruptcy set a different amount.
| Limit, threshold or payment | Amount (exclusive of GST) | Bankruptcy Act & Regulations |
|---|---|---|
| Where the trustee is appointed in the current financial year, regardless of when the estate began Limit updated each financial year – for trustee appointments in prior financial years (from 2017–18) see the historical indexations |
$6,127 | s60-15 of Schedule 2 |
| Where the trustee was appointed before 1 September 2017, and the estate began on or after 1 December 2010 This amount is not indexed |
$5,000 | s161B as it was from 1 December 2010 to 31 August 2017 |
|
Where the trustee was appointed before 1 September 2017, and the estate began before 1 December 2010 Limit updated quarterly |
$2,270 | s161B as it was before 1 December 2010 |
Limit on priority payments to employees
Amounts updated each financial year.
| Limit, threshold or payment | Amount | Bankruptcy Act & Regulations |
|---|---|---|
| Up to this limit, the bankrupt’s employees who are entitled to claim in the estate are the first unsecured creditors to get payments from the estate. | $5,150 |
s109(1)(e) r26 |
Official Receiver allowances and advances
Allowance for attending the Official Receiver to give evidence about someone else’s bankruptcy.
Amounts updated quarterly.
| Limit, threshold or payment | Amount | Bankruptcy Act & Regulations |
|---|---|---|
| Attending the Official Receiver to give evidence or information. | $26 | s77D(1)(a) and s304A(1)(a) |
| Advance payment for costs of travel by: | ||
|
$26 | s77E(2) and s304A(1)(b) |
|
$26 | s77E(3) and s304A(1)(c) |
|
$12 | s77E(4)(a) & (b) and s304A(1)(d) & (e) |