81-90 of 179 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Corporate Crime) Bill 2019 (the 2019 Bill) in the Senate, and the Attorney-General's Department has released Draft Guidance on the steps a body corporate can take to prevent an associate from bribing foreign public officials for public consultation (the Draft Guidance).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and Associate Lewis Winter report on the key differences between the 2017 and 2019 Bills, and the content of the Draft Guidance. ...
ASIC Register of Financial Advisers: will it raise quality of advice and standards?
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. ...
Unlocking the tax value of greenfield exploration expenditure
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 ...
Back to a future for employee share scheme options
After talks of introducing a special tax regime for employee options in start-ups, the Federal Government has reverted back to the global norm of employee options granted by all companies generally being taxed on exercise ...
Linklaters Insights: New board pay rules - are they working?
FTSE 100 companies have consulted far more widely with their shareholders on board pay and there have been far fewer shareholder revolts on pay as a result These are among the key findings of a Linklaters report analysing how FTSE 100 companies - throughout the 2014 AGM season - have reacted to the ...
Being 'professional' under D&O insurance policies
In a recent decision the Full Federal Court has clarified the scope of a professional services exclusion in a Directors Officers insurance policy Partner Andrew Maher and Senior Associate Andrew Lazzaro report on a case that gives some guidance on the relationship between professional indemnity and ...
ASIC tweaks employee incentive scheme relief
Various amendments to ASICs employee incentive scheme class order relief have now come into effect Described by ASIC as minor and machinery in nature the clarifications and improvements were prompted in part by market feedback Partner Greg Bosmans looks at the changes ...
Supply chains and modern slavery: reporting on the rise
The release of the Attorney-Generals consultation paper on modern slavery in supply chains and the recent interim inquiry report on establishing an Australian Modern Slavery Act reflect how international standards around corporate respect for human rights are becoming enshrined in law Australian ...
Extraordinary new power proposed for APRA
The proposed draft of the Financial Sector Legislation Amendment (Crisis Resolution Powers and Other Measures) Bill 2017, will be giving new powers to the APRA in relation to the authorised non-operating holding company and other related bodies corporate of APRA-regulated entities ...
Draft whistleblower legislation puts onus on big business
Big business should be aware of mandatory publishing requirements for whistleblower policies and a reverse onus of proof for compensation which is among a raft of whistleblower reforms contained in draft legislation released following a Senate inquiry report Partner Rachel Nicolson and Associate ...