In brief
Today the Federal Government will introduce legislation that will significantly overhaul Australia's foreign bribery laws and will also establish a deferred prosecution regime that is intended to provide an incentive for companies to self-report a range of serious white-collar crime matters. The Allens International Business Obligations group look at the changes.
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6 December 2017
Earlier consultation
These changes were foreshadowed in a consultation by the Attorney General's Department held earlier this year. At the time, we published an article expressing our views on the proposed changes (see our Focus). We also prepared submissions to the consultation in relation to changes to foreign bribery laws and the consultation on the introduction of deferred prosecution agreements.
A quantum shift
Together, these changes will represent a real shift in Australia's regulatory landscape for foreign bribery and white collar crime matters. We will be considering the proposed legislation when it is published. Please let us know if you would like to discuss what these changes might mean for your organisation.