ASIC Form 525 Sets Liquidator Notice Requirements for Disclaiming Onerous Property

Key Takeaways

• ASIC has published Form 525, the notice a liquidator must lodge to disclaim onerous company property under section 568A(1) of the Corporations Act 2001.
• The form itself is dated 16 February 2015, though the update is listed as 2026-09-15, so it appears to be a republication or catalog entry rather than a new requirement.
• Compliance teams with exposure to insolvent counterparties should understand how disclaimers affect their rights, claims, and contracts.

Deep Dive

ASIC has published Form 525, the notice a liquidator must lodge to disclaim onerous company property under section 568A(1) of the Corporations Act 2001. The form itself is dated 16 February 2015, though the update is listed as 2026-09-15, so it appears to be a republication or catalog entry rather than a new requirement. Compliance teams with exposure to insolvent counterparties should understand how disclaimers affect their rights, claims, and contracts.

Form 525 is the prescribed notice a liquidator uses to disclaim property of a company in liquidation. The form lists the permitted grounds under paragraphs 568A(1)(a) to (d): land burdened with onerous covenants, shares, unsaleable or not readily saleable property, property that may give rise to a liability to pay money or another onerous obligation, and property where realization costs would exceed proceeds. It also covers disclaimer of a contract. Where court leave was required, the liquidator must state the date it was granted. The form is a document revision or republication, not a substantive rule change. The content does not indicate any new obligations, and the 2015 form date should be verified against ASIC's current form version.

Key requirements include the company name and ACN/ABN, lodgement contact details, the liquidator's name and address, selection of the applicable disclaimer ground, a schedule describing the disclaimed property, and the liquidator's signature and date. Additional space can be handled through photocopied pages or annexures. Annexures must meet ASIC's formatting rules: A4 paper, minimum 10mm margins, corporation name and ACN/ARBN, consecutive page numbering, an identifying mark, a prescribed endorsement, and signature and date by the same signatory as the form. Completed forms are lodged by post with ASIC at PO Box 4000, Gippsland Mail Centre VIC 3841.

Timing matters mainly for affected third parties. The form notes that a person claiming an interest in the disclaimed property may apply to the Court to set the disclaimer aside within the period in subsection 568B(1). The disclaimer takes effect under subsection 568C(3) and terminates the company's rights, interests, liabilities, and property in the disclaimed property. It does not otherwise affect other persons' rights or liabilities, except as needed to release the company. No specific lodgement deadline is stated in the form, so teams should confirm statutory timing directly in the Act.

Recommended actions: Insolvency, legal, and credit teams should confirm they use the current ASIC form version and update templates and checklists. Teams exposed to counterparties in liquidation should monitor for disclaimer notices, assess impacts on leases, contracts, collateral, and shares, and calendar the court-challenge window with legal counsel. Practitioners should also confirm that the personal information in lodged forms is handled in line with ASIC's privacy policy and internal data protection requirements.

Risk impact is low to moderate. The main exposure is missed notices, lost rights to challenge a disclaimer, unexpected loss of contractual protections, and rejected or defective lodgements from formatting errors. Financial institutions holding secured or contractual positions against insolvent entities face the greatest potential credit and legal impact.

Source: Australian Securities and Investments Commission