Our favourite recent legislation proposed changes are that individuals will now be liable for the crimes and bad conduct that their companies undertake. A huge win for community expectations.
Bills were read in Parliament that would enforce laws:
Making bosses and staff personally accountable (including jail time) for crimes that their banks/companies commit. This ensures a top-down focus on ethical and lawful business conduct.
There will be stronger consequences for crimes in the financial sector as an outcome from the royal commission into banking through Treasury Laws Amendment (APRA Governance) Bill 2018 (p.2,3&4). It states that a new organisation will be created this year: the Australian Financial Complaints Authority to create a complaints mechanism which has teeth and doesn’t require customers who want to make complaints to require lawyers so there is no legal costs for those wanting to complain.
Additional resources and powers have been given to ASIC to pursue and prosecute individuals in the banking sector, with increased penalties of up to almost $1 million and maximum jail time extended from 5 to 10 years. For organisations, fine limits have increased to $200 million.
Stopping animal cruelty – ensuring live exporters behave ethically by having criminal penalties for CEOs. This means that we don’t need to ban it because bosses will ensure that it is conducted in an ethical way or will take the blame. The Export Legislation Amendment (Live-stock) Bill 2018 (p.10&11) will increase and introduce new criminal offences and penalties for unacceptable conduct for live-stock exporters. Executive officers who fail to take reasonable steps to prevent the disobeying of the law will be held personally liable.
Financial institutions will now pay for their own regulation through 4 new proposed Bills. (Corporations (Fees) Amendment (ASIC Fees) Bill 2018 (p.7, 8&9) National Consumer Credit Protection (Fees) Amendment (ASIC Fees) Bill 2018 (p.9) Superannuation Auditor Registration Imposition Amendment (ASIC Fees) Bill 2018 (p.9&10) and Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Amendment (ASIC Fees) Bill 2018 .
Financial institutions will bear the cost to be regulated via levies, not taxpayers! This will encourage regulatory compliance, as good conduct will reduce supervisory levies that banks need to pay!
Prevent corporate fraud with the Phoenix Taskforce. Phoenixing is a type of corporate fraud and involves businesses who don't pay their bills and deliberately liquidate to walk away from their obligations then restart their operations under a different name and ABN. A taskforce has already been set up to locate and prosecute company directors with jail time and ban them from holding a directorship again. Jail time is also a consequence for accomplices associated with this fraud ie tax agents etc.
In the first half of 2017–18, 187 audit and reviews were conducted. Prosecution has so far raised $214.4 million in liabilities with $72.8 million in cash. This money has been collected and returned to the community. (https://www.ato.gov.au/General/The-fight-against-tax-crime/Our-focus/Illegal-phoenix-activity/Phoenix-Taskforce/) Members of the community can report illegal phoenix activity by phone on 1800 060 062 or by email at phoenix@ato.gov.au