In Australia, an external administrator, also called an insolvency practitioner, is an independent person that is formally appointed to control an insolvent company's affairs. External administrators can be appointed either by the company's directors, a secured creditor, or by a court, and include: provisional liquidators, liquidators, voluntary administrators, deed administrators, controllers, and receivers. A receivership is when an external administrator known as a "receiver" is appointed by a secured creditor to sell off a company's assets in order to repay the secured debt, or by the court to protect the company's assets or carry out other tasks.