By Peter Biazos
It’s been a buoyant year, undeniably one of the busiest I’ve ever seen in terms of the number of engagements. While we haven’t seen as many large matters towards the end of the year, small to medium-sized businesses have been doing it tough, as reflected in the statistics. Overall, it has been a genuinely busy year for most practitioners across the insolvency landscape.
Image Source: Alares.com.au October Insights 2025
We’ve also seen noticeable shifts in the types of businesses seeking help. Hospitality has been hit particularly hard, coffee shops, small takeaway stores, and similar operators have seen a real increase in appointments. Transport is another sector under pressure, especially trucking and freight. With petrol prices and other costs skyrocketing, many of these businesses simply can’t keep up. Hospitality and transport are undoubtedly the two most affected sectors this year.
Looking ahead, plenty is happening in the broader economic environment. From what I’m hearing, next year the ATO is gearing up to be even more “engaged” than they’ve been this year.
The focus isn’t only on major fraud cases, though those do exist, but more on businesses that simply haven’t paid. With $58 billion in outstanding debt, the ATO has a significant recovery task ahead. We’re seeing more appointments by the ATO, and they’re mostly run-of-the-mill businesses rather than high-profile cases.
Image Source: Alares.com.au October Insights 2025
In terms of engagements, there has been an increase in CVLs, while SBRs have slowed, especially since mid-year, likely down by at least 20%. The ATO has raised its expectations: where 20 cents in the dollar once passed, now proposals need to offer 30–35 cents. They’re placing far more scrutiny on cash-flow forecasts and long-term business viability. With that increased pressure, my view is more people will be returning to traditional restructuring strategies. I expect next year to lean more towards the older pre-pack restructure model rather than SBRs, particularly when there’s no guarantee a higher-cents-in-the-dollar offer will be accepted.
Image Source: Alares.com.au October Insights 2025
When we assess businesses, we draw on the full range of tools available – SBRs, CVLs, restructures – matching the right approach to each situation as it comes.
Looking back on the year, I genuinely believe B&T Advisory’s biggest achievement has been the team and the culture we’ve built to service our clients effectively. Bringing Sydney into the fold in June has been fantastic. We’ve created an environment where people are truly invested in the practice and the work they do. At our end-of-financial-year lunch, we flew the Sydney team up, and at the end of the day, one of our young staffers pulled me aside and said, “This feels like a family. It’s a family atmosphere.” That meant a lot. That’s exactly what we’re trying to cultivate. When people love coming to work and want to do good work, everyone benefits.
As for how accountants and lawyers can better prepare their clients for next year, they need to be proactive. Waiting until May for tax planning is no longer workable. The earlier an issue is identified and brought to us, the greater the chance we have of saving the business. Leave it too long, and the tax debt grows, the ATO loses patience, and options become limited. Early intervention is critical.
All in all, it’s been a strong year and the data backs that up, particularly the report from Insolvency Australia which recognised us as a top 5 Queensland firm and 19th nationally on numbers. We’re proud of our achievements overall and look forward to building on it in the year ahead.