121-130 of 307 results
Take Two: anti-bribery reforms revived and long-awaited draft regulatory guidance released
The Australian Government has tabled the Crimes Amendment (Combatting Corporate Crime) Bill 2019 (the 2019 Bill) in the Senate, and the Attorney-General's Department has released Draft Guidance on the steps a body corporate can take to prevent an associate from bribing foreign public officials for public consultation (the Draft Guidance). Like the 2017 version of the Bill that lapsed earlier this year (the 2017 Bill), if passed, the 2019 Bill will strengthen Australia's foreign bribery laws, including by introducing a new corporate offence of failure to prevent bribery by an associate, and will introduce a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) scheme for resolving serious corporate criminal matters. Partner Rachel Nicolson, Senior Associate Andrew Wilcock and Associate Lewis Winter report on the key differences between the 2017 and 2019 Bills, and the content of the Draft Guidance. ...
Procurement update – when can government abandon a procurement process and what are the consequences? Considerations from the UK
The United Kingdom High Court (the Court) recently handed down its judgment in Amey Highways Ltd v West Sussex County Council, which considered the abandonment of a government procurement process following a breach of relevant procurement regulations by a public agency. For government departments and agencies in particular, this case clarifies when a public agency can abandon a procurement process and what remedies may be available to bidders in these circumstances. ...
Treasury proposes tougher penalties for corporate and financial sector misconduct
The Federal Government has released exposure draft legislation for public consultation that if enacted will implement many of the recommendations of the ASIC Enforcement Review Taskforce to strengthen the penalty regime for corporate and financial sector misconduct Partner Simun Soljo and Lawyer ...
Close and continuous monitoring - the new ASIC approach of embedding its officers in banks
ASIC has recently announced a new supervisory approach that involves embedding ASIC officers in the four major banks and AMP ...
Unwrapping recent developments in the food sector
Associates Tiernan Christensen and Nick Li report on some noteworthy developments relevant to the food industry in Australia. ...
ASIC releases paper on collective action by institutional investors
ASIC has released its consultation paper on collective shareholder actions which calls for feedback on a draft update to Regulatory Guide 128 The consultation paper illustrates ASICs current albeit preliminary views on the tension between fostering increased investor engagement on the one hand and ...
Bigger sticks, smaller budget: ASIC's enforcement in 2015
In 2014 the Australian Securities and Investments Commission ASIC was chastened by the Senate Economics References Committee which wants ASIC to be more effective but encouraged by the Financial System Inquiry which wants ASIC to take on greater powers Meanwhile the Federal Government has reduced ...
ASIC proposes changes to fees and costs disclosure
ASIC has released for industry comment a draft Class Order which would amend the fees and costs disclosure requirements that apply to superannuation and managed investment products The key proposed amendments relate to the way in which indirect costs must be disclosed Senior Associate Simun Soljo ...
Employment & Safety
In this issue we look at how post-employment restraints can be unenforceable if a company does not comply with the employment contract itself a decision of the Federal Court that confirms an employee who is on long-term sick leave must continue to have regular contact with their employer and a ...
CIPRs - some interesting findings
We recently hosted some workshops in Sydney and Melbourne to discuss the proposed CIPR framework The outcomes of those workshops were interesting - in some respects surprising - and this article provides a brief report ...