Ad agency employees told to sign secrecy clause to get paid out

At its height, For the People Agency boasted offices in Sydney and Fremantle, with staff also working out of Launceston and the USA. (For The People agency)

An award-winning branding agency run by Tasmanian entrepreneur Chris Billing is suspected of having operated while insolvent for years.

Staff at the agency, For The People, were transferred to a similarly named company earlier this year.

The liquidator is continuing her investigations, including into potential phoenix trading — which is the practice of transferring a business's assets and operations to a new company to evade debts and obligations.

As employees at an award-winning branding agency arrived at their Sydney office early one December day in 2024, they found the doors locked and a notice sticky-taped the glass.

It said the agency, For The People, was more than $25,000 behind on rent.

It was an alarming development for staff, who were looking forward to celebrating the end of the work year with a team-building session at a luxury Blue Mountains retreat the following week.

Despite the planned trip, some employees had been growing worried about the company's finances — their salaries were sometimes paid late, and superannuation was missing.

A lockout notice was posted on the front door to For The People Agency, asking for $25,168 in unpaid rent. (Supplied)

The note on the door was another red flag that something was seriously wrong.

According to a liquidator's report to regulator ASIC, now obtained by the ABC, the company's director, Chris Billing, is suspected of having operated the agency in insolvency for years.

The Australian Taxation Office sought wind-up orders in the Federal Court last October, as the amount of tax owed by For The People Agency climbed to almost $5 million.

In February, the court ordered For The People Agency be wound up in insolvency, appointing liquidator Shelley Brooks to the case to investigate the company's affairs and distribute any money from assets to creditors.

Her preliminary investigations suggest For The People Agency may have been insolvent from at least May 2019, and likely earlier, and has confirmed to the ABC that she is investigating potential phoenix trading.

Staff at the agency were this year transferred to a new registered agency, For The People Agency Australia.

ASIC describes illegal phoenix trading as when a new company, for little or no value, continues the business of an existing company that has been liquidated or abandoned to avoid paying outstanding debts.

At its height, For the People Agency boasted offices in Sydney and Frem