Foreign bribery regime: Proposed reforms will heighten risk levels

Hot on the heels of its 31 March 2017 consultation paper concerning deferred prosecution agreements, the Commonwealth government has 4 days later released a consultation paper on proposed reforms to Australia's foreign bribery regime.

If implemented, these reforms would widen the scope of conduct that is viewed as corrupt and increase the likelihood of improper conduct being successfully prosecuted in Australia.

The proposed reforms represent a significantly increased risk for both corporations and directors that do not take adequate steps to ensure that appropriate compliance procedures are in place or fail to undertake the necessary due diligence in respect of their business partners and agents.