iscoverThe small business restructuring process has become a “hunting ground” for unqualified salespeople looking to benefit themselves rather than small businesses, restructuring experts have said.
Insolvency experts warn against ‘dodgy’ SBR offers
19 November 2025
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9 minute read
Small business restructuring (SBR), introduced in January 2021, has morphed from a helpful mechanism for small businesses into a trap that business owners need to be wary of when tackling financial distress.
Eddie Griffith, Affiliation for Business Resilience and Turnaround (ABRT) chair, said the original intent of the SBR process was to give viable small businesses a faster, cheaper restructuring option without handing full control to a liquidator.
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“Nearly five years on it has become a hunting ground for unqualified salespeople, unethical commission agents and offshore call centres pushing false hope to desperate directors,” he said.
“Unregulated lead generators. Commission-based spruikers. Facebook ads promising miracles. Cold callers guaranteeing 80 per cent ATO debt cuts. None of it is grounded in law. None of it grounded in reality.”
According to Griffith, ABRT was calling for urgent action as regulators needed to clamp down on unqualified salesforces and eliminate commission-driven SBR spruiking.
A need for small business directors to be protected from this type of conduct was also noted, before more operators “sold hope” and caused irreversible damage.
“The conduct is not only unethical, under Australian Consumer Law much of it would be considered as misleading and deceptive,” Griffith said.
“These operators sell SBRs as magic cures while ignoring the most basic legal barriers. They either do not understand the rules, or do not care.”
Griffith said part of the reason ABRT was pushing for change was linked to the fact that directors were never told the real consequences if an SBR were to fail if engaged by someone who was not a knowledgeable professional.
This sentiment was echoed by registered liquidator, restructuring practitioner and Business Reset director, Jarvis Archer, on a recent Under the Hood podcast episode.
Archer, one of the top liquidators in the country, having orchestrated the most successful number of SBRs, said it was incredibly sad that some business owners were being taken advantage of and had experienced a failed SBR.
According to Archer, when done correctly, SBRs were incredibly beneficial and significantly effective as they saved businesses and put money in the pockets of creditors.
“The hard part for me with all of this false advertising and improper application of them is that a year ago I was all about them and would recommend them to anyone, whereas now I am more cautious,” he said.
“Another hard part for me as a professional is wanting to see business owners get the right result. And accountants working with people, refer their clients to liquidators and professionals who are going to help their client get that result, but the thing is, how do we cut through the noise?”
Archer said not “just anyone” should be allowed to advertise and offer SBRs, as based on their critical nature, they could more often than not break a business if done poorly.
People who were not doctors couldn’t offer medical services, so why should an advertising agency or someone not professionally experienced and knowledgeable in insolvency be able to offer SBRs, Jarvis said.
Both Archer and Griffith noted a rise in ATO pressure, with Griffith emphasising that some ATO tools could be unhelpful for smaller debts.
“Heavy handed ATO recovery tools intended to encourage director engagement are being deployed faster and for smaller and smaller debts. If the ATO’s tools do not kill the business they do the next worst thing and drive vulnerable directors toward predatory SBR salespeople and negligent liquidators,” Griffith said.
“Predatory operators are mis-selling SBRs and exploiting fear. That is not restructuring. That is an ambush. Small and family businesses deserve truth, deserve competence and deserve qualified advisers who act in their best interests and that of the small business community.”
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