On 21 July 2010, President Obama signed into United States law
the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The
Act is a response to the global financial crisis and contains
extensive reforms to the US financial services industry.
One of the remarkable changes introduced by these reforms is the
whistleblower provisions which grant monetary rewards to
individuals who report illegal conduct to the Securities Exchange
Commission. The provisions took effect on 12 August 2011.
Australian entities dealing with US public companies, including
investment banks, advisers and service suppliers, as well as US
subsidiaries operating in Australia, should be aware of these
provisions as they give employees important rights to report
illegal conduct directly to the SEC and thereby bypass internal
reporting and compliance mechanisms.
