For the past year, many Australian businesses, ranging from very significant publicly listed corporations, to much smaller family businesses, have benefited from public and private relief measures intended to soften the impact of COVID-19. Although those measures were introduced as a direct result of pandemic-related concerns, the economic reality in many sectors was already uncertain and many businesses were facing challenges. The pandemic accelerated and increased the operating and trading pressures. In this alert we consider the potential examination and prosecution risks for directors and third parties.
