Bankruptcy Register search
The Bankruptcy Register Search (BRS) is an online service that lets you check if someone is currently bankrupt or has been involved in personal insolvency proceedings in Australia.
It searches the National Personal Insolvency Index (NPII), which contains electronic records of most personal insolvency proceedings in Australia. This includes bankruptcy, debt agreements and personal insolvency agreements.
The NPII does not include records on companies, only individuals.
To get the most out of your search, read the BRS search tips.
Important
If you are bankrupt and want to find out when your bankruptcy will end or if it has ended, you don't need to do a Bankruptcy Register Search. You can get this information for free by using our online form at End of bankruptcy discharge enquiries.
Why search?
There are many reasons you may use the BRS, such as:
- You are an employer, finance lender or potential employer and wish to find out if a person is bankrupt, in a debt agreement or in a personal insolvency agreement.
- You are owed money and want to find out if the person who owes you money is in an insolvency administration. This may require you to stop taking further action to recover your debt.
How much does the search cost and what will I get?
Each search costs $15 and can be paid by VISA or Mastercard. If results are found for your search, you can choose to view and download 1 extract or the result report.
If there are no results matching your search criteria, you will be given a ‘No results’ extract.
If you wish to download more extracts or result reports, it will cost another $15 each.
| Activity | Fee |
|---|---|
| Search by name or reference – includes 1 extract OR result report | $15 |
| Additional extract OR result report | $15 |
You can choose to have all purchased results and invoices emailed to you.
BRS search results explained
For your search fee, you receive a search of the National Personal Insolvency Index and only one of the following:
- an extract (details of a person’s insolvency) or
- a result report (a list of people who match your search criteria, if any).
BRS sample extract results
The following are sample extract results for a bankruptcy search.
For more details about the specific extract terms, read the NPII Glossary.
Debtor’s Petition (Individual)
Debtor’s Petition (Joint Administration)
Debtor’s Petition (Partnership Administration)
Sequestration Order
AFSA is undertaking a phased approach to modernise and strengthen the National Personal Insolvency Index (NPII) and comply with legislative requirements. As a result, new fields have been added to NPII search results.
AFSA is undertaking work to support data population of these new fields. Therefore, the following new fields have not been populated for all records:
- Commencement date – the earliest act of bankruptcy committed by a debtor (under section 40 of the Bankruptcy Act 1966) for a bankruptcy by debtor's petition.
- Statement of joint/partnership affairs filed – date of filing of a statement of affairs for joint debtors and partnerships.
- Finalisation date – date the administration of a bankruptcy estate is finalised by a trustee.
- Release date – date a trustee is released from the trusteeship of an estate under section 184 or 184A of the Bankruptcy Act 1966.
Those seeking to rely on information on the NPII should make their own enquiries before doing so. The information contained in an extract comes from the NPII at the time and date of the extract.
If you think the information contains errors or have questions regarding data that is not captured for these new fields, please contact AFSA on 1300 364 785.
Debt Agreement Search Result
The following is a sample of a debt agreement extract result for a search. For more details about the specific extract terms, read the NPII Glossary.
Results Summary
The following is a sample of an extract result summary. For more details about the specific extract terms, read the NPII Glossary.
Results Summary – Name Search
Results Summary – AFSA Reference Search
No Results
The following is a sample of an extract result for a bankruptcy search. For more details about the specific extract terms, read the NPII Glossary.
Need to do a New Zealand insolvency check?
New Zealand has their own online insolvency register that you can search.
Visit New Zealand Insolvency and Trustee Service for more information, or search the New Zealand Insolvency register.