Ladies Insolvency Professionals joins industry-wide call for greater gender balance in insolvency
Ladies Insolvency Professionals (LIPS), represented by its President, Christina Cavallaro, has joined eight other professional and industry organisations in calling for practical reforms to improve gender balance in Australia’s insolvency profession.
The joint submission, Achieving Gender Balance in Insolvency, was developed by the Working Group on Gender Balance in Insolvency, which was established in March 2026.
The Working Group brings together representatives from:
- Association of Independent Insolvency Practitioners (AIIP)
- Australian Restructuring Insolvency & Turnaround Association (ARITA)
- Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ)
- CPA Australia
- Institute of Public Accountants (IPA)
- Ladies Insolvency Professionals (LIPS)
- Turnaround Management Association Australia (TMA Australia)
- Women’s Insolvency Network Australia (WINA)
- Women in Insolvency and Restructuring Victoria (WIRV)
Despite progress in recent years, women remain significantly underrepresented in the profession, accounting for just 11% of registered liquidators and 17% of registered trustees in bankruptcy.
Two practical reforms
The submission makes two key recommendations:
- More time to meet the experience requirement: Extend the period in which applicants can accumulate the required 4,000 hours of senior insolvency experience from five to seven years. The 4,000-hour requirement and registration standards would not change.
- Improved access to appointments: Encourage government agencies, regulators and other appointing bodies to adopt an equitable briefing policy and use all reasonable endeavours to appoint suitably qualified women in at least 25 percent of appointments. The approach would also apply to external advisers acting for those agencies.
The proposed 25 percent target is voluntary, not a quota. Appointments would still be based on merit, independence, experience and suitability. ASIC and AFSA have already adopted these targets for relevant appointments.
On 14 October 2026, representatives of the Working Group met with the Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP and representatives of the Department of the Treasury in Canberra to discuss the proposed reforms.
LIPS has long supported women working in insolvency through professional networking, connections and career development opportunities. Its participation in the Working Group builds on that commitment by supporting broader industry reforms aimed at improving women’s opportunities to enter, progress and succeed in the profession.
LIPS welcomes the collaboration between the nine participating organisations and looks forward to continuing to support this important initiative.
Below are links to the following documents for your information:
Joint Restructuring and Insolvency Industry Submission – Achieving Gender Balance in Insolvency
Media Release – Insolvency Reforms Needed to Address Gender Bias in the Profession
The Working Group was founded and chaired by Shabnam Amirbeaggi, a registered liquidator and registered bankruptcy trustee. LIPS appreciates the work undertaken by the entire Working Group which also includes Kathleen Vouris (AIIP), Tianne Nagy-Jones (ARITA), Jill Muir (CA ANZ), Belinda Zohrab (CPA), Vicki Stylianou (IPA), Christina Cavallaro (LIPS), Emily Seeckts (TMA), Martie Tziotis (WINA) and Caitlyn Hoey (WIRV).