Last year, the Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade (the committee) recommended enacting legislation to establish a worldwide human rights sanctions regime. Last week, the government's response was tabled in Parliament. ...

An understanding of the global reach of anti-bribery and corruption regulation, as well as the application of it within a specific jurisdiction, is key to managing risk for today’s international businesses. ...

Australian Government enact legislation to establish a worldwide human rights sanctions regime. We report on why the Committee's recommendations have implications for your business's approach to sanctions risk management, as well as for Australia's broader sanctions framework. ...

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted many aspects of international commerce, and will continue do so for some time. In this Insight, we discuss three critical trade-related impacts of the pandemic on Australian businesses. ...

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Corporate Crime) Bill 2019 (the 2019 Bill) in the Senate, and the Attorney-General's Department has released Draft Guidance on the steps a body corporate can take to prevent an associate from bribing foreign public officials for public consultation (the Draft Guidance).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and Associate Lewis Winter report on the key differences between the 2017 and 2019 Bills, and the content of the Draft Guidance.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

In a bold new play, a consortium led by social media giant Facebook has announced plans to enter the financial services sector through the launch of a cryptocurrency called Libra. Both a currency and a blockchain backed payment system, the project could have a profound impact on the financial servic ...

Australian boards and senior executives are expected to maintain oversight of risk and compliance issues such as bribery sanctions human rights and anti-money laundering In-house counsel perform a central role in supporting this oversight and maintaining compliance In the last of a five-part series ...

The Federal Government has established a new Fraud and Anti-Corruption Centre to deal with allegations of white-collar crime Partner Rachel Nicolson Senior Associate Tessa Meyrick and Associate Freya Dinshaw consider the impact of the new federal body and the changing enforcement landscape in ...

Understanding the global reach of anti-bribery and corruption regulation as well as the application of it within a specific jurisdiction is key to managing risk for international businesses Our global alliance partner with input from Allens examines 24 jurisdictions across the Asia-Pacific Europe ...

In a recent judgment the English Court of Appeal reversed a controversial High Court decision that had severely limited the application of legal professional privilege in internal investigations under English law The decision has consequences for Australian corporates conducting cross-border ...