Acted for voluntary administrators of Tahmoor Coal in all aspects of administration, including contested winding up application brought by unsecured creditor in Supreme Court of New South Wales

Client(s) Administrators of Tahmoor Coal and Bargo Collieries Pty Ltd.

Jones Day acted for the voluntary administrators of Tahmoor Coal in all aspects of the administration, including a contested winding up application brought by an unsecured creditor in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Following a two-day contested final hearing, Justice Black placed the company into liquidation due to the difficulties his Honour perceived in being confident in the continuation of the administrators’ funding arrangements. In doing so, his Honour described the case as the most difficult he had dealt with in nearly 15 years on the bench, observing that the Court’s discretion was "finely balanced" that the administrators had made their case in a "measured and efficient way" and there were "real adverse consequences" of his decision to transition the Company into liquidation – particularly for the hundreds of workers employed by the coal mine and the Tahmoor community. The case highlights a gap in Australia's restructuring landscape – the absence of a US-style super priority financing regime that would allow voluntary administrators to efficiently seek alternative third-party capital. Enhancing the Administrators’ financing powers would allow Australian companies with complex capital structures to access the significant benefits of voluntary administration where existing secured creditors are unable or unwilling to fund the administration.

In the matter of Tahmoor Coal Pty Ltd (admins apptd) [2026] NSWSC 218