Offences:
- 1 x failing to disclose to the Registered Trustee an inheritance of $124,780 received in bankruptcy, contrary to section 265(1)(a) of the Bankruptcy Act 1996 (Cth)
- 1 x knowingly disposing of $84,700 after becoming bankrupt, contrary to section 265(4)(a) of the Bankruptcy Act.
A Western Australian man has been sentenced in the Perth Magistrates Court to 3 months' imprisonment for each offence committed during his bankruptcy, to be served concurrently.
David John Machin was sentenced in late March 2026 after pleading guilty to two offences under the Bankruptcy Act. His conduct involved failing to disclose an inheritance to his registered trustees and dealing with the funds by transferring the funds to another bank account after the filing of his bankruptcy petition.
Magistrate Urquhart released Mr Machin on a $1,000 Recognizance Release Order with a condition that he be of good behaviour for 12 months.
Mr Machin became bankrupt in April 2021 by way of a Debtor's Petition, and registered trustees were appointed to administer his bankrupt estate.
On 30 December 2021 - approximately 6 months into his bankruptcy - a Grant of Probate was issued naming Mr Machin as both executor and beneficiary of a will. He was entitled to receive $124,780, but failed to disclose receipt of this property to his trustee.
In January 2022, Mr Machin transferred this inheritance into a bank account held in the name of a family member, for which he was a co-signatory. Between 1 February 2022 and 27 April 2022, Mr Machin transferred a total of $84,700 from that account into other bank accounts.
The court heard a significant amount of time had passed between Mr Machin receiving and dealing with the funds and notifying the registered trustee, the amount of money involved in the offending was substantial, and Mr Machin's self-reported motivation for offending was to repay 'loan sharks'.
Inspector-General in Bankruptcy and Australian Financial Security Chief Executive, Tim Beresford, said:
'This sentence acts as both a specific and general deterrence to calculated conduct that undermines confidence in Australia's personal insolvency system. AFSA continues to prioritise harms-based enforcement where deliberate misuse of the system is evident.'
This matter was prosecuted by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) (CDPP) following an investigation and referral by the Australian Financial Security Authority.
