Australia has five main forms of external administration. Who chooses the appointee tells you much of the story, but the legal route still matters.
Receivership (receiver / controller). Usually appointed by a secured creditor enforcing its security; a court can also appoint. Control of the secured assets moves to the receiver. Directors remain in office, but their powers are displaced to that extent.
Voluntary administration. Usually appointed by the directors; a qualifying secured creditor or liquidator can also appoint. A company-wide process begins, and a rescue through a DOCA may still be possible.
Small business restructuring. The company appoints a restructuring practitioner and the directors stay in control. It is available only if liabilities do not exceed A$1 million and the other eligibility tests are met; creditors vote on the plan.
Creditors' voluntary liquidation. Usually begins by shareholder special resolution, or after creditors choose liquidation following a voluntary administration or terminated DOCA. The liquidator takes control, realizes assets and winds up the company's affairs.
Court liquidation. The court appoints after an application, usually by a creditor; directors, shareholders and ASIC can also apply. The order proves that the court put the company into liquidation. It does not, by itself, prove why the debt was unpaid or how the company responded.
Three practical notes that recur in our coverage:
Receiverships have a thinner creditor-facing trail. A privately appointed receiver principally reports to the secured creditor. Unsecured creditors usually do not receive the meeting and reporting sequence that comes with voluntary administration or liquidation; a later liquidation creates a separate creditor process.
Appointments can stack. A company can be in receivership and administration at once. The lender protects its security while the administrator deals with everyone else.
The administrator's report to creditors is often the most informative creditor document in a voluntary administration. It is sent before the meeting that decides the company's future, ordinarily within 25 business days of appointment (30 around Christmas or Easter) unless the court extends time. It is not necessarily a public filing. Our Watchlist dates track when that creditor reporting should emerge.
One appointment is a fact about one company. Entering any form of external administration is a fact of the public record and implies no wrongdoing by any company or person. Process descriptions above are general information, not legal advice; the controlling documents are the Corporations Act 2001, the court order where applicable and the appointee's own communications.