I have just presented a paper entitled "Strategic Use of Guarantees" to Leo Cussen's annual Property Law conference.
The paper covered some introductory background about guarantees and why they lead to so much litigation, some disaster stories, numerous bases upon which the courts of equity have relied in refusing to enforce guarantees, an examination of some recent case law (including the effect of the Personal Property Securities Act, 2009, and the potential impact of both the National Credit Code and the High Court appeal in the Willmott Forests litigation about the disclaimer of leases by a liquidator), when and how a guarantee can be called up, and some tips to avoid common drafting mistakes.
A copy of all of the seminar papers from the intensive (including mine) are available from Leo Cussen Institute (web site: http://www.leocussen.vic.edu.au/ )
W G Stark
Hayden Starke Chambers