The first creditors meeting is an official meeting that must be held within eight business days of a company entering voluntary administration.

The first creditors meeting is organised and run by the voluntary administrator, who has a legal duty to publicise the meeting. At least five business days before the meeting, the voluntary administrator must:

• Notify as many creditors as possible in writing
• Advertise the meeting on ASIC’s insolvency notices website

The aim of the first creditors meeting is for the creditors to answer two questions:

1. Do they want to form a committee of inspection? If so, who should be on the committee?
2. Do they want to replace the existing voluntary administrator (who would’ve been appointed by the directors) with a voluntary administrator of their own choice?

Creditors can vote only if they’ve lodged details of their debt or claim with the voluntary administrator.