Credit: insung yoon via Unsplash
For the People Agency and its sole director Chris (Christopher Samuel) Billing have been referred to corporate regulator ASIC after the Australian Tax Office (ATO) took the branding agency into liquidation.
Liquidator Shelley-Maree Brooks, in a report to ASIC, said the agency had appeared to be trading insolvent.
Brooks was appointed in February by order of the Federal Court in Tasmania. This follows a winding up application by the ATO.
The agency had at one stage offices in Tasmania, Sydney and Perth. The ABC reported former staff describing the agency with a great reputation and a talented, driven and award-winning team.
Investigations by the liquidator indicate some staff were told early this year that they had been transferred to a business with a similar name, For the People Agency Australia.
“My investigations have indicated some employees were forwarded correspondence in late January / early February 2026 advising of the transfer of their employment contract,” Brook wrote in her report.
“At this stage, I am uncertain as to whether all employees received this correspondence and how many accepted this transfer.”
The agency with a similar name, For The People Agency Australia Pty Ltd, was established with a Chippendale Sydney address in 2023.
Phoenixing is where the assets of a company are moved to a clean shell of a company leaving behind debts and liabilities in the old business.
“I have identified a number of breaches by the director and will be lodging a report with the ASIC,” Brook wrote.
“The report to the ASIC has qualified privilege and is not available for public viewing.
“My preliminary investigations suggest that the company may have been insolvent from at least 1 May 2019 and accordingly the director may be liable for any debts incurred by the company that remain unpaid since that time.
“It is noted, the date of insolvency is likely to be earlier than currently identified, on the basis that I have only received limited books and records to date.”
Of the $8 million in liabilities, the liquidator estimates the ATO is owed $4,661,031.32.
The company had just cash in the bank of $2,693.79.
Twenty-four employees are estimated to be owed a collective $305,377.09, most of it superannuation..
The agency’s Instagram account was last updated in October last year.
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