The Australian government has reached a deal with the administrator of Rex - Regional Express (ZL, Wagga Wagga) to take on AUD50 million Australian dollars (USD31.4 million) worth of debt owed to PAGAC Regulus Holding Pte Ltd (PAG).

In a January 23, 2025, Australian Stock Exchange filing, administrator Ernst & Young says it expected to complete the debt assignment on the same day. After that, the government will become Rex's biggest secured creditor and a voting member of Rex's Committee of Inspection. PAG will remain a minority secured creditor.

Transport Minister Catherine King called the debt assignment an "important step to prevent an adverse outcome for regional communities, such as liquidation, and ensure the continued connectivity of Australia’s regional and remote communities."

From hub airports such as Sydney Kingsford Smith, Melbourne Airport, Adelaide International, Perth International, Brisbane International, and Cairns, Rex's Saab 340B aircraft service towns with catchment areas as small as a couple of thousand people. However, the loss of these flights would be politically untenable for the government as many of those communities have no other air service.

"This makes clear the government’s ongoing commitment to maintaining access to aviation services for regional and remote communities and recognises the critical role of the Rex network to local economies," King added. "These actions preserve important economic, medical and freight services, supporting regional liveability and regional economies."

Meanwhile, an entity called Navinci GM says it is "poised" to purchase Rex's pilot training facility and B737 simulator in Sydney. "This acquisition will lead to the creation of a new independent commercial pilot training organisation in Australia - Salus SIM," CEO David Irwin told ch-aviation. Navinci is a non-bank loan and foreign exchange company that operates an end-to-end hedging and payment platform.

Australian company records show Salus SIM Holdings is wholly owned by Navinci Group Pty Ltd. Salus SIM's sole officeholder and director is David Tozer, a wealthy Queensland-based investor and former partner at Houlihan Lokey Australia. In 2023, he completed an AUD30 million (USD18.8 million) recapitalisation of Navinci.

Rex filed for voluntary administration in mid-2024 after accumulating substantial losses following a venture into B737-800 operations. However, the carrier's bread and butter business was and remains scheduled prop flights into regional and remote towns. With funding from PAG and a commercial loan from the government, those flights continue to operate while the jet operations have ended.