1 April 2026
Winding Up Applications
There will be a few instances of this saying in this article but for the first quarter of 2026 we have had the highest first quarter in the last 10 years. Comparatively we have had more winding up applications in 3 months than we had in all of 2020.
Businesses remain under the pump, with factors both inside and outside their control (war, fuel prices etc.) negatively affecting their bottom line and putting on the squeeze. Unfortunately, when this has happened in the past and when it inevitably happens again companies tend to step paying “The Bank of IRD” first. This in turn leads to the IRD debt growing and IRD taking more enforcement action driving winding up applications.
March had 90 applications for the month down on both January and February but this is a normal occurrence for March.
The IRD applications in March made up 66 of the 90, which is above their comparative march months from prior years. The drop-in appointments that put us below 2025 for March was from all other creditors chasing debts. Likely a combination of how the public holidays fell, growing uncertainty for businesses in the strength of the economy, along with the end of financial year and matters being put on the back burner for more important matters to be resolved before 31 March rolled around.
In March of 2025 there were 51 winding up applications in the month. In February 2026 all other creditors made up 48 applications, while in March 2026 they had dropped off to 24, so half.
2026 now looks like it may exceed 2025 if the first quarter is anything to go by. However, it is still early days to predict this in a year where the country goes to the polls. There remains a lot of pressure and uncertainty in the economy.
We remain a few months out from when we will get the next update from IRD on their current tax debt levels but at 30 June 2025 there was $9.3 billion outstanding. My prediction are on this growing to over $10 billion.
Company Insolvencies – Liquidations, Receiverships, and Voluntary Administrations
January, February and March 2026 has been the highest first quarter in the last 15 years for corporate appointments. Add to that October, November and December 2025 and you have been the highest rolling 6 months same time frame.
Corporate insolvency appointments in March 2026 continued the trend of coming in above their previous comparative months. So far, the first 3 months of 2026 is looking in line with what we saw in 2011 post GFC.
Solvent liquidations were around their historical March levels as stakeholders sought to squeeze them in before the end of the financial year. While insolvent shareholder liquidation and court liquidations were both 1.5x their long-term average in March.
We are still 6 months + out from November where people will start to take the wait and see approach but signs are pointing to a busy 2026 for insolvency practitioners off the back of a busy 2025.
With another month of elevated levels of court applications to wind up the number of court liquidations is expected to remain high.
The Official Assignee took 60 liquidation appointments in March, almost all of them were IRD court applications. They continue to be the busiest liquidator in the country and have also had a bumper first quarter.
Personal Receiverships
After a slow start to the year for personal receiverships when compared to 2025, March 2026 finally saw a jump with 8 out of the 13 appointments in the first quarter being appointed in March.
The uptick in Personal receiverships seen since 2024 is driven by the preference of some lenders towards obtaining a personal general security agreement from individual borrowers which allows them to appoint receivers upon default, rather than the traditional approach used by the bulk of lenders of relying on the often slower to enforce, personal guarantee to recover their debts.
Because there are no publicly available reports on the result of the receiverships, there is no register for individuals it is difficult to see how successful the appointment may be and if any funds are recovered along with what the costs involved were on each appointment. Alternatively, they may be acting as a fishing expedition to allow lenders a look into the individuals personal affairs to see what is behind the curtain and not searchable on the register.
Personal Insolvencies – Bankruptcy, No Asset Procedure and Debt Repayment Orders.
February 2026 had 87 bankruptcies, of these 54 were through the courts, quite the jump from previous months but still only a minor lift from past years and not a definitive sign that bankruptcy figures have changes and are on the rise.
At this point we continue to expect more of the same with only minor rises.
Where to from here?
After a big first quarter 2026 will be an interesting year with the public at the polls in November, based on 2024 and 2025 insolvency figures appointments should continue to track up and look to be even higher than what we saw in 2025.
If you want to have a chat about any points raised or an issue you may have you can call on 0800 30 30 34 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..