Bankruptcy and Employment
Most people don’t think about what impact bankruptcy can have on their job. Bankruptcy can impact severely on which jobs or professions you can have. What you do now, or may do in the future, for a living should be consider before filing for bankruptcy.
The Bankruptcy Act itself doesn’t restrict what types of work a bankrupt can engage in. The restrictions generally relate to professional or governing bodies (eg Master Builders Association) bylaws. The professional bodies have bylaws stating that bankrupts can’t be members of the association and since you need to be a member to engage in that employment it effectively stops you from working in that profession. The bankruptcy act does not prevent you from being an accountant. However the CPA association will not let you be a member if you are bankrupt, and since you need to be a member of the CPA to practice, bankruptcy effectively prevents people from being accountants. The other way bankruptcy can affect your job is by another legal act which stipulate that bankrupts cannot engage in that employment. The ASIC Act prevents bankrupts from being company directors, the Queensland Gaming Act prevents bankrupts from holding gaming license or working in casinos.
While you may need the protection of Bankruptcy to help you get past insurmountable debt. You should take into account the impact that bankruptcy will have on your future earnings which may extend beyond the bankruptcy period if your profession is taken into account. It may be that you have no other option but to file for Bankruptcy.
The following professions are effected by bankruptcy.
- Accountants
- Builders
- Company Directors
- Councillor (local government)
- Defence Force Personal
- Electricians, Plumbers, Gas Fitters (not if employed by someone else)
- Escorts/Prostitutes
- Private Investigators
- Justice of the Peace
- Those with Liquor Licences
- Members of Parliment
- Police
- Real Estate Licence (Only those with a licence not those opperating under someone else’s licence)
- Pawnbrokers
- Second Hand Car Dealers
- Security Guards
- Solicitors
- Tax Agents
- Licensed Travel Agents (not people working in a travel agency)
- Gaming Licenses
Before filing for bankruptcy you should consult your professional body, governing body or HR department. Typically you can do this anonymously. In many cases you will be able to continue your profession with certain restrictions imposed during the bankruptcy period. For example: if you are a Real Estate Agent you may be able to continue as long as you don’t control a trust account. But these conditions vary from profession to profession and state to state.
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