ASIC has released its first report focusing on director and officer oversight of non-financial risk in seven large financial services companies (the First Report). While the report focuses on financial services companies, ASIC points out expressly that all companies, regardless of sector, should read and engage with the findings of this report. ...

A parliamentary inquiry has been announced into whether Australia should introduce a legislation authorising the government to impose sanctions against gross human right abusers. ...

Australia's modern slavery reporting regime was introduced one year ago, and 2020 will see the first set of modern slavery statements published by reporting entities. ...

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Corporate Crime) Bill 2019 (the 2019 Bill) in the Senate, and the Attorney-General's Department has released Draft Guidance on the steps a body corporate can take to prevent an associate from bribing foreign public officials for public consultation (the Draft Guidance).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and Associate Lewis Winter report on the key differences between the 2017 and 2019 Bills, and the content of the Draft Guidance. ...

The Queensland Supreme Court has refused an application by a class action plaintiff seeking to compel the defendant to disclose its insurance policy and documents relating to its insurance position. In doing so, the court commented on the recent Federal Court decision in the Radio Rentals class action but came to a different result on the facts. This decision shows that when determining whether or not to make an order for disclosure, the court is likely to take into account the defendant's financial capacity, and may be less likely to make such an order where the defendant's solvency is not a concern. ...

The recent settlement of the Great Southern class action raises a number of interesting and important issues not only because the court took the unusual step of publishing its reasons for judgment after the settlement had been announced ...

The Federal Government has announced that ASIC will establish a public register of financial advisers, intended to benefit consumers, who will be able to check that their adviser is appropriately authorised and qualified before receiving personal advice. ...

In important news for any Australian business that provides goods or services to individuals on deferred payment terms the long-awaited Credit Reporting Privacy Code has been registered Partner Michael Pattison and Senior Associate Matt Vitins report on the implications of the credit reporting ...

The Financial Stability Board has been working since the GFC to develop a policy framework that mitigates the systemic risks of the shadow banking sector while simultaneously preserving its benefits We examine international developments in shadow banking and the Boards proposed regulatory response ...

Draft legislation has been released that contains details of the Exploration Development Incentive announced as part of the 2014-15 Federal Budget The scheme is designed to encourage equity investment in greenfield explorers by enabling explorers to issue exploration credits to its investors Partner ...