I have had 2 businesses myself 1 small, 1 medium, I always let my customers know if there were going to be any delays with anything regarding their dealings with me, had situations that were out of my control many of times and still my customers ( as they were my bread and butter ) were my first priority no matter what, without them I had no business.
I personally don't know the guy or his situation, but there are so many people sharing their details on their dealings with the business, so if he knew he was in trouble and was still trading and taking deposits and orders knowing this, then that is a breach of trading, ASIC outlines this here
https://asic.gov.au/regulatory-resources/insolvency/insolvency-for-directors/
From appointing liquidators, this is a known way to keep ASIC at bay, for a little while, but we all know that once liquidators take over they get paid first, then all the plebs get the scraps.
People who have orders and have paid deposits etc are going to be the losers, but if he was trading as insolvent then he is then personaly responsible as a director.
So my question of if he was trading insolvent, was only to see if he has been taking fresh orders and deposits when he knew he was already broke, no judgment, no slander, no speculation, just a question.