The Situation: It is increasingly common for Australian class actions to be brought by private plaintiffs at the same time as regulatory proceedings are brought by Australia's corporate, competition and other regulators in...more
REST and Statewide Superannuation become the first industry superannuation funds to be caught in the crosshairs of ASIC's "why not litigate" approach to enforcement.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission...more
The Situation: After conducting a period of market surveillance, Australian Securities & Investments Commission ("ASIC") Commissioner Cathie Armour recently released a statement reiterating ASIC's expectation that disclosing...more
The Situation: Australia's Federal Government has announced that it intends to make permanent reforms introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic to continuous disclosure requirements for ASX-listed companies. The temporary...more
This edition of the Update covers:
1. Recent legal and regulatory developments, including the release of APRA's policy and supervision priorities for 2021, the launch of APRA's Cyber Security Strategy 2020 – 2024,...more
There are showers, there are squalls, and there are storms. The growth in cybersecurity attacks in Australia, as in much of the world, is a storm and Australian companies need to batten down the hatches. In the period from 1...more
12/16/2020
/ ASIC ,
Australia ,
Class Action ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Insurance ,
Cyber Threats ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Popular ,
Risk Management
KEY LEGAL AND REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS -
Legislative and Regulatory Reform -
Permanent reforms in respect of virtual meetings and electronic execution -
On 19 October, the Federal Government released for...more
11/18/2020
/ ASIC ,
Australia ,
Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) ,
Bankruptcy Reform ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Restructuring ,
Federal Budget ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
FIRB ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Relief Measures ,
The Corporations Act ,
Virtual Meetings
During the better part of 2020, the federal government has injected an unprecedented level of stimulus into the Australian economy in an attempt to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19. As a result, despite a significant...more
10/15/2020
/ Australia ,
Bankruptcy Reform ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Creditors ,
Debt Restructuring ,
Insolvency ,
Landlords ,
New Rules ,
Relief Measures ,
Small Business
On 31 August 2020, the Australian Law Reform Commission's Final Report on Corporate Criminal Responsibility was tabled in Parliament. The Final Report makes significant recommendations for reform of corporate criminal...more
10/12/2020
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Australia ,
Board of Directors ,
Bribery ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Crimes ,
Corporate Culture ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Criminal Code ,
Criminal Liability ,
Deferred Prosecution Agreements ,
The Corporations Act ,
White Collar Crimes
This edition of the Update addresses:
1. Recent legal and regulatory developments which relate to licencing and regulatory relief, consumer protection, financial markets, anti-money laundering and capital and prudential...more
Australia's corporate regulator has released its Corporate Plan, which outlines its strategic litigation goals and governance initiatives over the next four years.
On 31 August 2020, the Australian Securities and...more
The Situation: Australia's corporate regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission ("ASIC") brought proceedings against two former directors of Tennis Australia ("TA") alleging that they engaged in numerous...more
Australia's landmark Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry that was conducted throughout 2018 and reported in early 2019 highlighted numerous examples of potential...more
Recent strategies and initiatives announced by Australia's corporate and prudential regulators and the Australian government's release in August 2019 of its Financial Services Royal Commission Implementation Roadmap provide a...more
Sweeping changes to corporate whistleblowing laws in Australia came into effect on 1 July 2019. The reforms provide for a range of additional protections to eligible whistleblowers, including a right of...more
7/24/2019
/ Anonymity ,
Australia ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
New Legislation ,
Private Sector ,
Protected Disclosures ,
Retaliation ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
On 6 December 2017, Australia's Federal Government tabled the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Corporate Crime) Bill 2017 ("Bill"), which contains various amendments to Australia's foreign bribery regime, including...more
12/22/2017
/ Amended Legislation ,
Anti-Bribery ,
Anti-Corruption ,
Australia ,
Bribery ,
Due Diligence ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Relations ,
Joint Venture ,
OECD ,
Risk Assessment ,
Self-Reporting ,
UK Bribery Act
On 6 December 2017, the Commonwealth Government announced its intention to significantly reform Australia's existing anti-foreign bribery regime.
The Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Corporate Crime) Bill 2017, now...more
The Situation: Currently, limited protections exist in Australia for private sector whistleblowers against victimization and detrimental treatment.
The Development: The Australian government has released draft law that...more
11/2/2017
/ ASIC ,
Auditors ,
Australia ,
Competition Authorities ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Financial Institutions ,
Indemnification ,
Insurance Industry ,
Ombudsman ,
Police ,
Private Sector ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Superannuation ,
Trustees ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
The Situation: On 22 September 2017, the Australian Government released a draft bill for the introduction of a Banking Executive Accountability Regime ("Proposed BEAR") allowing only five working days for submissions....more
The Background: In RBC Investor Services Australia Nominees Pty Limited v Brickworks Limited [2017] FCA 756 (10 July 2017) ("Brickworks case"), a large institutional investor sought to dismantle a cross shareholding...more