You have been served with a freezing order.
A freezing order is serious, but it is not a judgment and it is not a finding against you. It preserves assets while a claim is decided. What matters now is strict compliance and fast advice.
Right now
- Comply immediately. Breaching a freezing order is contempt of court, punishable by imprisonment. Do not deal with assets the order restrains, wherever in the world they are, if the order is worldwide.
- Read the exceptions. Orders ordinarily allow reasonable living expenses, legal costs and dealings in the ordinary course of business. Know precisely what you may still do.
- Note the deadlines. Most orders require an affidavit disclosing your assets within days. That document matters; do not produce it without advice.
- Get to the return date prepared. The order was almost certainly made without you being heard. It can be varied or discharged, and the applicant has given undertakings to the court that protect you if the order should not have been made.
What we do
We act quickly: advising on compliance and the asset disclosure, appearing at the return date, seeking variation or discharge where the order overreaches, and defending the underlying claim.
Read more about our White Collar Crime practice
Talk to us today
All consultations are private and confidential. For urgent matters please call +61 3 8676 7929. Telephone is answered out of hours. Contact us
