ASIC Form 509 Requires Summary of Affairs Lodgment in Creditors' Voluntary Winding Up

Key Takeaways

• ASIC's Form 509 is the statutory summary of a company's affairs, lodged under section 497(1)(a)(i) of the Corporations Act 2001 when a company is wound up by creditors' voluntary liquidation.
• It must be lodged within 10 business days of the winding-up resolution meeting, together with Form 5604.
• Compliance teams should treat it as a routine procedural form rather than a new regulatory change, because the content is a form template dated 1 September 2017 and carries a 2026-09-15 date in the feed.

Deep Dive

ASIC's Form 509 is the statutory summary of a company's affairs, lodged under section 497(1)(a)(i) of the Corporations Act 2001 when a company is wound up by creditors' voluntary liquidation. It must be lodged within 10 business days of the winding-up resolution meeting, together with Form 5604. Compliance teams should treat it as a routine procedural form rather than a new regulatory change, because the content is a form template dated 1 September 2017 and carries a 2026-09-15 date in the feed.

The form sets out a structured balance of affairs. It covers assets not subject to specific security (land, debtors, cash, stock, work in progress, plant and machinery, other assets), assets subject to specific security, and a waterfall of deductions. The deductions are amounts payable ahead of secured creditors (including employee entitlements), debenture or circulating security interests, preferential claims, and partly secured balances. It then covers unsecured creditors, contingent assets and liabilities, and the estimated surplus or deficiency, plus share capital details. Assets are shown at cost or net book amount alongside estimated realizable values. The form must be signed by a director, secretary, or liquidator. A lodgement fee applies, and no dollar amount is stated in the document.

Lodgement is due 10 business days after the company meeting at which the winding-up resolution was passed. The "date to which summary is made up" cannot be earlier than the directors' declaration under section 494(1). If the summary is sent to creditors under section 497(1)(b)(i), it must be made up to the latest practicable date before notices go out. Form 5604 must be lodged alongside it. Attachments or photocopied pages are permitted if space is insufficient, and attachments must be labeled with the liquidator name, attachment name, page count, and preparation date.

Insolvency, legal, and corporate advisory teams should confirm that checklists and templates use the current form version and track the 10-business-day deadline from the resolution date. They should also verify that the valuation basis and security-priority waterfall are reconciled to the underlying records, and that the filing is paired with Form 5604. Teams should also confirm signatory authority, the fee, and handling of personal information under ASIC's privacy policy. For financial institutions acting as secured or unsecured creditors, the filed summary is a useful input for recovery estimates and provisioning.

Late or inaccurate lodgement can expose officers and liquidators to regulatory scrutiny and penalties under the Corporations Act. Misstated valuations or omitted contingent liabilities can mislead creditors and damage the integrity of the process. Overall impact is low and procedural, but errors carry legal and reputational consequences.

Source: Australian Securities and Investments Commission