On 30 March 2017, the Australian Parliament introduced the
Crimes Legislation Amendment (Powers, Offences and Other
Measures) Bill 2017 into the Legislative Assembly. The Bill
aims to provide a range of amendments to improve and clarify
Commonwealth criminal justice arrangements but importantly proposes
amendments to increase the government's ability to fight fraud
and corruption. Being "compliance ready" when it comes to
corruption will be more important than ever.
The new Bill, awaiting a Second Reading Debate in the
Legislative Assembly during the next sitting, will amend, among
other things, the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) and the Australian Federal
Police Act 1979 (Cth) to better clarify the functions of
Australia's corruption regulator, the Australian Federal Police
(AFP) and enable greater cooperation with international
organisations and non-government organisations. This signals a
shift in focus for the Australian government towards bolstering
anti-corruption
