Changes Ahead For Australia's Corporate Criminal Liability Regime

The Situation:  At the direction of the Attorney General of Australia, the Australian Law Reform Commission ("ALRC") is undertaking a comprehensive review of Australia's Commonwealth corporate criminal liability regime. The ALRC is due to release a discussion paper on proposed reforms shortly.

The Result:  The terms of reference indicate the ALRC is considering a broad range of issues including avenues to strengthen and simplify the existing statutory mechanisms for attributing criminal liability to companies found in Part 2.5 of the Criminal Code  (Cth). The ALRC has also been asked to consider incorporating provisions of general application into Part 2.5 to facilitate senior corporate officers being held criminally liable for corporate misconduct and to consider the appropriateness of existing criminal procedure laws as they apply to corporations.