If your company has been delisted or is suspended from quotation it may well be in liquidation. There are three ways of finding a company that is in liquidation:

• Search by ASX, NZX, NSX or BSE code (see box above right)
• Search by company name (see box above left)
• Click on the appropriate letter of the alphabet (see the alphabet index above)

If you are unable to find your company or the information is incomplete or incomprehensible we recommend you send us a message and we will try to assist. Please bear in mind we are unable to help with private (pty) companies, public companies that have never been listed or with companies domiciled outside Australia or New Zealand. ASIC on 1300 300 630 or the New Zealand Companies Office on 0508 266 726 may be able to assist you with other companies.

WHY IS YOUR COMPANY IN LIQUIDATION?

A company is in liquidation when a registered liquidator is appointed to conduct the winding-up of a company and the liquidation of its assets. A liquidator is generally appointed on the grounds that the company is insolvent and there is no better way for creditors to maximise their return than from liquidating the assets.

A liquidator can either be appointed by the court or a company can voluntarily place itself in liquidation or it can end up in liquidation after a vote of creditors. In the latter case it generally occurs because a viable arrangement is not possible during the course of a voluntary administration.

One of the major tasks of a liquidator is to admit claims by creditors and then pay them according to priorities set out in the law.

If a company is placed in liquidation, the duty of the liquidator is to kill the company by selling the assets, distributing them to creditors and dissolving the company.

In liquidation, no person can perform or exercise any function or power as an officer of the company other than with the liquidator's written approval, although this does not technically remove the directors from office. However, they are stripped of all their powers.

Note that a company can also be in provisional liquidation, a sort of half-way house status, while enquires are made about the financial situation of the company pending liquidation, some other form of external administration, or returning the company to the control of the directors.