Restructuring & Turnaround
Safe Harbour
Protecting directors while a genuine restructuring is underway.
Restructuring & Turnaround
Decisive counsel for businesses facing financial and operational distress.
Overview
How we help.
The safe harbour provisions in section 588GA of the Corporations Act 2001 are one of the most important protections available to directors of companies in financial difficulty. Used correctly, they provide the space needed to pursue a better outcome than immediate administration or liquidation without personal exposure to insolvent trading liability. Used incorrectly — or without proper documentation — the protection falls away.
Corson Fiske works with directors from the earliest point of concern, structuring the engagement to satisfy the statutory preconditions and creating the contemporaneous documentation that supports the protection. Our approach emphasises substance over form: the course of action being pursued must be genuinely reasonably likely to produce a better outcome, and the monitoring must be real.
Our partners have acted on safe harbour matters across a range of industries and situations. We know what works, what regulators and courts look for, and where the common failure points lie. That experience is what directors are buying when they engage us.
Capabilities
- Eligibility assessment and entry-point analysis
- Course of action plan development and documentation
- Appropriately qualified adviser appointment
- Ongoing monitoring of the course of action
- Employee entitlements and tax lodgement oversight
- Books and records compliance review
- Exit strategy — successful turnaround or structured transition
- Director duties support throughout the engagement
Client Situations
When clients engage us.
The issues that bring clients through our door tend to fall into familiar patterns.
A director has been warned about insolvent trading
Legal advice has flagged potential exposure and the director needs to understand whether safe harbour is available.
A genuine turnaround plan is in place
Management has a credible plan but directors need the protection to continue trading while it is executed.
A restructuring transaction is in progress
A sale, capital raise or debt restructure is underway and the directors need protection for the period until it completes.
A prior safe harbour has run its course
The business has traded through a previous safe harbour period but circumstances have changed and a fresh assessment is needed.
A bank has appointed an investigating accountant
A senior lender has commissioned an independent business review. The directors need parallel counsel to ensure their position is protected through the review and any subsequent process.
An earlier advisor has lost the confidence of the board
The company has been working with another advisor but the directors have lost confidence in either the advice or the approach. Second opinions are needed quickly.
Outcomes
What you can expect.
- Confirmed eligibility and a documented entry point
- A course of action plan that satisfies the statutory test
- Ongoing monitoring that supports the continuing protection
- A clear exit — either successful turnaround or a managed transition
Client Success
Outcomes from recent engagements.
Indicative results from engagements within this practice area. Client details have been anonymised; outcomes reflect actual matters completed by the firm.
$42M
Debt Restructured
Consensual debt restructure
Negotiated a multi-lender standstill and amendment-and-extension for a manufacturing group facing covenant breach, preserving trading operations and avoiding voluntary administration.
Manufacturing group, NSW
18 days
From Brief to DOCA
Accelerated DOCA
Advised directors of a distressed professional services firm through a compressed 18-day process to a creditor-accepted Deed of Company Arrangement.
Professional services, VIC
92%
Creditor Support
Safe harbour to refinance
Supported directors through a six-month safe harbour engagement ending in a complete refinancing with 92% creditor support for the transition plan.
Retail group, QLD
Why Corson Fiske
Experience where it counts.
Clients engage Corson Fiske because they need advice they can act on — delivered by senior practitioners who understand both the technical detail and the commercial consequences. Every engagement is led by a partner with direct experience in safe harbour advisory.
Our integrated structure means tax, legal, accounting and advisory questions are resolved within a single firm. For clients operating across Australia, Asia, New Zealand or Asia, our office network in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Singapore and Auckland provides consistent advice across jurisdictions.
Our Approach
A refined four-phase method for every engagement.
Corson Fiske applies the same disciplined framework to every matter, regardless of scale. The phases below are not a marketing device — they are the actual structure our partners use to move clients from uncertainty to resolution.
Phase One
01
Understand
A confidential partner-led briefing to establish the facts, commercial drivers, timing pressures and stakeholder dynamics.
- Confidential scoping conversation
- Document and data review
- Stakeholder mapping
- Initial risk identification
Phase Two
02
Analyse
Structured technical and commercial analysis of every realistic option, with a clear view of risks, costs and likely outcomes.
- Technical legal and tax analysis
- Commercial modelling
- Risk-weighted options assessment
- Precedent and market benchmarking
Phase Three
03
Recommend
A written partner recommendation in plain English — not a list of caveats. We stand behind our advice and explain our reasoning.
- Clear written recommendation
- Implementation sequencing
- Stakeholder communication plan
- Contingency and fallback positions
Phase Four
04
Execute
Hands-on delivery of the agreed plan with partner oversight, regular milestone reporting and clear handback at completion.
- Implementation leadership
- Stakeholder engagement
- Milestone tracking and reporting
- Completion review and handback
Key Considerations
What clients need to know.
Engaging external advisors on any significant matter raises practical questions about scope, timing, cost and outcomes. We believe in being straightforward about each of these from the first conversation.
How engagements typically begin
Every engagement starts with a confidential initial conversation — usually 30 to 60 minutes — in which we listen to the situation, ask the questions needed to understand it properly, and share a view on whether and how we can help. There is no charge for this conversation and no obligation to proceed.
How we scope and price work
We prefer fixed-fee or capped-fee arrangements wherever the scope allows. Where the scope is genuinely uncertain — as in contested matters — we agree hourly rates upfront and provide regular fee updates against defined phases. We do not bill for internal discussions, file opening or routine administration.
Who you will work with
Every engagement is led by a partner with direct experience in the matter type. That partner remains your primary point of contact throughout. Specialist colleagues join the team where their expertise is required, but you will never be passed from person to person or find the partner you hired is no longer on the file.
How we handle confidentiality and privilege
All engagements are subject to strict confidentiality. Where legal advice is being delivered, it is provided through our incorporated legal practice and attracts legal professional privilege. We take document security, information handling and communications discipline seriously on every matter.
Get the right advice from Corson Fiske.
Confidential, no-obligation initial consultations with a partner who specialises in safe harbour advisory.