Free Bankruptcy Information & Bankruptcy Advice Australia Wide

Bankruptcy simply cancels most debts, so you won’t owe anything on your credit cards and debts like that again. Once you’ve made up your mind on what you should do, I can have you bankrupt and out of debt in about a week.

Without going to court bankruptcy quickly enables ordinary people to get out of debt. It gives you the chance to start again, to get back on your feet, and so be able to get on with your life.

If they've become a problem bankruptcy gets rid of the telephone calls and harassment.

These days, with so many people finding that they need mortgage help because they’re in some sort of mortgage crisis, and so are under what is commonly called mortgage stress, you may be surprised to know that bankruptcy may even offer you a way to save your house.  If this is you then just read on because I talk more about this in this website, and I give you a 1300 to call, or an email address for you to make contact if you want to follow this matter up.

Hello, my name is Fred Appleton, I’m a former Chartered Accountant and I’ve been through bankruptcy myself when, a number of years ago, I tried to diversify my business interests. The wheels fell off and it knocked me over.

I was 30 years or so in my own practice up until that happened, but for more than 12 years now mostly, in semi retirement, I have just specialised in bankruptcy, but only from the point of view of the person owing the money, you. In that time I've helped thousands of people, just like us, to sort out their debt problems and get on with their lives.

If things have got to the point where you’re reading this website, bankruptcy could be the best thing that you could possibly do right now. It can turn things around for you, it can be so so positive.

You’ll probably understand this too, but from what people have told me over the years, I’m certain that bankruptcy saves lives and marriages too.

Once you’ve checked out what I’ve written and made your decision about what to do, then to go bankrupt is quick and easy. In Bankruptcy Information Note 5 I tell you that an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it will get the ball rolling, and after that you could be bankrupt and out of debt in about a week for a cost of either $143 or $396, that’s all.

If you’d like to talk to somebody by email, then at no cost or obligation to you, simply send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and my associate Helen Millward will respond, generally the same day. This is a free information and advice service so, after reading this website first please, simply tell us your problems and ask any questions. Helen’s a Chartered Accountant and you’ll read more about her in Bankruptcy Information Note 5. She’s been my assistant with my bankruptcy business for about the last 5 years. She will initially respond to you, and where appropriate she’ll pass it on to me. Sometimes I may ring you to discuss your matter so please include a telephone contact number. If I call you I’ll then ask you to call me back.

If you’d like to talk to somebody on the phone , then because I’m moving more and more into retirement (but not quite), I’ve arranged for an associate, Alan Nicholls, to take your call, free of charge and obligation free. For the cost of a local call just phone him on 1300 794 492, anytime. If Alan’s not available when you ring then his office will refer your call to me.  I’ll call you back and when you answer I’ll ask you to call me back and then we can have a chat about your situation and your concerns, again cost free and without obligation.

Alan is a Chartered Accountant and he has his own bankruptcy and insolvency business. Although we are separate entities, I have been referring matters to him from time to time since the mid 1990s, and so over the years he and I have found it beneficial to do some things together. We both happily work on the principle that “what you lose on the swings you pick up on the roundabouts”, so don’t feel uncomfortable about ringing. You can email him if you want to at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and his website is www.nichollsco.com.au.

Also, as I mentioned earlier, contrary to popular belief, don’t feel if you're in some sort of mortgage crisis that it’s a foregone conclusion that if you go bankrupt that you’ll lose your house too.  With so much mortgage help needed and with mortgage stress creeping in these days it’s possible that with bankruptcy, the house could be saved.  There is hope. 

Not many people will tell you that but I cover this in more detail in Bankruptcy Information Note 4. No matter where you are in Australia Alan Nicholls is the person to talk to about this. When you do, mention my name too please, as if your matter becomes a job then my office will be asked to prepare the paperwork.  

Here’s an extract of a note received by Alan Nicholls 

In Information Notes 3 and 4 you’ll also read about Nick Crouch, another Chartered Accountant who I ask readers to call direct if you consider that your matter is in the larger business category and so you feel that my website may not be so appropriate for your problem, particularly if you are in Sydney. After Nick, or Shabnam, a partner of the firm, has spoken to you, come back to me and I’ll do the paperwork for your bankruptcy.

If you go bankrupt through me or Alan, your bankruptcy will be very private, it’ll not be in the newspapers.  Almost nobody will know if you go bankrupt, you’ll be anonymous.  If you go bankrupt using this service, you won’t have to go to court either.  And almost certainly, if you want to, you should be able to keep your car too. I discuss cars in Bankruptcy Information Note 2 so either put your cursor on the highlighted bit and click, or go to Information Note 2 in the column to your right, and click.

Here's a testimonial, quite unsolicited.

and another one...

So, if you're behind in paying your debts, and now the awful worry and constant harassment and pressure at all hours from the debt collectors is starting to wear you down, and even starting to affect your health, then its probably time that somebody told you about bankruptcy, or its alternatives, but from your point of view

In the pages of this website you'll read that if you declare yourself bankrupt, you should be able to keep your car ( if you want to). Bookmark or save this site in your Favourites, then print out and read Bankruptcy Information Note 2 to find out more about this . Mostly if you're paying it off and there's a Bill of Sale over it as security, so then you simply just have to be up to date with your repayments when you go bankrupt, and be able to stay up to date.

If the car has been repossessed and sold, then if you go bankrupt you won't owe any more money on it.

You'll read that as far as you are concerned, bankruptcy will cancel your debt on things like credit cards, store cards and mobile phone debt , on unsecured overdrafts and personal loans, your personal income tax and GST debt, any personal guarantees debt, on other loans debt, and if you're in business, your unsecured business debt too.

Tax debts, and particularly if you are also involved as a director of a Pty Limited company, Director Penalty Notices are a real issue. If this is part of your problem then I suggest that you quickly call and discuss this with Alan Nicholls 1300 794 492 or email him at  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it He’s got a good section on this problem on his website www.nichollsco.com.au

Bankruptcy doesn't cancel Centrelink debt, Child Support debt, some HECS debt and loans to do with your higher education (there's a special term for it), or court imposed fines. You'll read about these, and traffic fines, which are a special case, in these pages.

Print out and read Bankruptcy Information Note 1 and you'll see that as a bankrupt you can retain a good slice of your income too, as after tax and after business expenses and after Child Support, the minimum amount that you can earn and keep during the (normal) 3 years of your bankruptcy is about $793.28 a week. If you have dependants, it's more, eg. with 3 dependants it's $1047.13 net per week).

You'll read that you can travel overseas if you are bankrupt. There's a huge amount of wrong information about this in the community, and on other websites wanting your business (Print out and read Information Note 4). Despite what some websites and accountants might say, in about 10,000 bankruptcies I’ve only known of a few cases where the person going bankrupt had to hand their passport to their bankruptcy trustee. Overwhelmingly you don't.

If you are reading this website from overseas then in Bankruptcy Information Note 4 and in Frequently Asked Questions I talk about how you can go bankrupt in Australia, which cancels your Australian Debt.

Throughout these pages I talk about your credit rating a lot. Bankruptcy and a Debt Agreement Proposal and a Personal Insolvency Agreement all damage your credit rating with the commercial credit rating agencies for 7 years so you will find it hard, but not always impossible, to get a loan again in that time.

Although the normal banking and finance companies may not want to lend to you again after your 3 years of bankruptcy is up, and while you've still got the balance of your 7 years bad credit rating in place, there are companies termed as Alternate Lenders who may help you. A mortgage or finance broker may be able to help you out here.

If you don't want to go bankrupt but want to consider what some newspaper and television advertisements and web sites claim is a better alternative, called a Debt Agreement Proposal or a Personal Insolvency Agreement, then I talk about these in Bankruptcy Information Note 3. I don’t think that for ordinary debt problems Debt Agreements are all that they are cracked up to be. They still tie you up to your debt, mostly for years and years and years. Debt Agreement Proposals are a great money spinner for the promoters though, without really helping the person in debt.

So, if you choose to the Debt Agreement Proposal route, make sure that the repayment arrangements being put to you are, from your point of view, workable. Because you’re going to be stuck with the repayment arrangement arrangement that the salesman will talk you into, then if you’re not completely comfortable with them, then my suggestion is that you give the bankruptcy option some serious thought.

If you find that you’re in a Debt Agreement Proposal and it’s not working for you because you’re still broke and miserable, you’ll read in this website how to replace it, and so be relieved from continuing on with the repayments, by going bankrupt. If this is you, give Alan Nicholls a ring. Alternatively, send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and we’ll help you to sort this out.

Debt agreements and Personal Insolvency Agreements are possibly good in some circumstances, but overwhelmingly I've got my doubts with others. I don’t like the fact that with a Personal Insolvency Agreement, you’ve got to be shamed by having it advertised in both a national and local newspaper. Again bankruptcy could be a far better option. Personal Insolvency Agreements are coverered in Alan Nicholls website, www.nichollsco.com.au

A lot of people tell me that they do want to pay their debts, but they can't at the moment, and the system is just putting unreal and unrealistic pressure and demands on them. Check out what I’ve written on this in Frequently Asked Questions.

I was sent an article out of the Canberra Times (page 24) dated May 20, 2006 headed Petrol Prices, interest rates pushing more Australians into financial crisis. It gave an example of what can happen under new debt recovery laws introduced in late 2005. It seems that this law change applies Australia wide.

The example showed that a person on a wage of $600 a week could be left with just $272 after their wages had been garnisheed by a creditor, ie, after the sheriff's been around and a creditor has taken you through the legal system, you could be left with just $272 a week to live on, week after week, month after month.

Isn't that just disgusting? I think that it's worth noting here that bankruptcy, or entering into a debt agreement proposal, would prevent this happening. If the person above was bankrupt, they would have been able to keep the $600 in full. Bankruptcy law is more humane than debt collection law.

As mentioned above, in my FAQ's (print them out and read them please) , I talk about a choice that you can make to repay all or some of your debt, over time, but at your pace and at a rate that you can afford, if you want to, without your creditors being able to pressure or harass you, or charge you any more interest. To do this is purely voluntary on your part, as after you go bankrupt you personally don't have to.

If you decide to go bankrupt and you want use my services then there are two main choices, and their prices range from $143 to $396. I cover this in Bankruptcy Information Note 5 so print this Note out too please.

Because I’ve been through bankruptcy myself, I think that I’ve got a pretty good idea of how you’re feeling right now, worried and awful.  You probably feel that you really could do with some help, but you’ve got no money.  That’s how I was anyway, so, I’ve tried to keep my above prices realistically low.  They haven’t changed in years as they cover my costs, and I live ok. 

Feedback from people who have checked out other bankruptcy websites tells me what other services who advertise on the internet charge.  One seems to charge about $1,800 and another $2,500 for what my service does for $396. We do hear of higher figures than this as well.  They're just the greedy preying on your ignorance and fear.  

Others say that they’ll do your bankruptcy paperwork for free, but as I come across these sorts of people from time to time let me tell you that there a no free lunches out there. 

My service will get the paperwork done and send you bankrupt, mostly through the government so that they can become your bankruptcy trustee, or if we think that you’d be better off to do so, we’ll suggest that you talk to Alan Nicholls or Nick Crouch.  There’s more on this later on in the website.   

If you’re not too sure how to do get and print out this additional information, just put your mouse pointer on the relevant Information Note listed at the side of the main menu, or where it is highlighted in the course of the narrative on the website, and left click twice.

Please save this site and then print out and read the whole website, all 40 or so pages first though please before deciding to make contact about going bankrupt as it also covers things like gambling, company directors and secretaries, compensation monies being free from bankruptcy, being in business while bankrupt, taxation, an insite into the debt collectors, buying your way out of bankruptcy (called annulment) objecting to the decisions and actions of your bankruptcy trustee, family law and property issues, and saving the house and your car and household goods and furniture.

You don't have to become a paying customer to make contact with any of us, as this is a free information and advice service. Don't feel uncomfortable about making contact if you just want information, or something cleared up, but I think you should print out and read the whole website first please, so that we both know what you want to really find out. 

If after considering your options you decide to go bankrupt and you wish to use one of the services that I offer, you simply email  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and one of us will get the ball rolling for you.  Generally speaking you can be bankrupt and out of debt in about a week

Up until now bankruptcy has probably been new and frightening to you, and there's a staggering amount of misinformation out there about it. As you read these notes I'll simply try to give you information and answers. Because I’ve been where you are at now, you’ll identify with a lot of what I say, you'll feel much better.

You might be interested in reading this testimonial that came to me, unsolicited, in April 2006.

No mention anywhere of the so called “stigma of bankruptcy” is there?  If people worry you by rabbiting on with  the stigma bit, take it from me, they’re not talking from the heart, but just from either the training manual, their hip pocket, or as is quite often the case with friends and relatives, they don’t know what else to say. For friends and relatives, just give them a print out of this website to read, or give them the website address www.fredappleton.com.au   

Here’s an extract from an email to me from a lady who used this service to go bankrupt. It may strike a cord with you and where your about at at the moment.

(It took me a bit longer for the feeling of Relief, peace that this lady refers to, to happen, about 3 to 4 weeks I’d say.  By then I’d realized that the phone calls and harassment had stopped, and that the roof hadn’t caved in) 

Print out the testimonials in Bankruptcy Information Note 6, they are worth reading too. They're all real, and are just a sample of what I regularly receive.

As I've said before if, after reading all of the information on this website you feel like getting in touch so that one of us can help you to sort out your situation, by all means do so.

You're under no obligation to me, Alan, Nick or Helen if you make contact. If you don’t have email then you can make contact by post.  The address is Fred Appleton’s Office, PO Box 588, Helensvale QLD 4212

And thanks for coming to my site, at the end of the day I hope that it helps.